


A New World Order Under My Rule

by NightlyDragonfly



Series: The Ghosts of Hallownest [4]
Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: But it’s not present day Ogrim it’s the white defender, Gen, I did not want to tag it as Grimm and it’s only NKG but there’s no NKG tag either so we make do, Literally just Soul Tyrant vs the dream bosses/warriors + Revek, My friend forced me to have Pure Vessel in this so they’re here too, Pure vessel and lost kin are babey, Soul Tyrant is a megalomaniac, White defender doesn’t have a tag, lmao what happened to this book, no beta we die like Tiso
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:08:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 24,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27966611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightlyDragonfly/pseuds/NightlyDragonfly
Summary: Soul Tyrant wants to create a new era, one ruled by him. He’s determined to do anything to achieve his goals.Everyone else isn’t going gentle into that, good night.
Relationships: Markoth/Xero (Hollow Knight)
Series: The Ghosts of Hallownest [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048129
Comments: 70
Kudos: 39





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wasn’t gonna make this but someone on Discord was super interested so fuck it. 
> 
> I know Pure Vessel isn’t technically a Dream Boss, but the conversation that sparked this work’s inspiration had Pure a lot in it and it feels wrong not to include them.
> 
> Read the tags.

Soul Tyrant scoffed slightly as he observed the Follies and Mistakes. Disgusting creatures. They were once smart scholars, and had his weaker self been smarter, perhaps they could achieve the immortality he now had. 

Stupid Pale King. Had he not interfered with his plans, things might have ended differently. 

Soul Tyrant suppressed those thoughts. No matter. It was time for a revolution. 

And he knew just the bug to help. 

-

“Let me get this straight. You’re starting a new era and you want _me_ to help?” Xero’s tone was nothing but incredulous. 

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“That’s correct.” Soul Tyrant waved a hand flippantly. “If I recall correctly, you started the original rebellion. The one that had the king on edge.” 

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“I- I wasn’t in the right state of mind then!” Xero’s cloak fluttered as he stammered to find his words. “I was executed for that very reason! Because the stupid Radiance got in my head!” 

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Soul Tyrant bathed in the other ghost’s nervousness. He absolutely knew Xero hated being reminded of his action in life. The red clad warrior had started a rebellion, one that actually took down quite a few of the King’s guard. 

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And then the dumbass turned his nails on the King and was executed. How tragic. Soul Tyrant never let Xero live it down, not when he had the chance to rub it in more. Markoth would have his head if he knew. 

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“But your rebellion _did_ something! You know how to lead, know how to get the point across. Together, we’d be unstoppable! We’d have it all: money, power, fame!” Soul Tyrant slipped an arm around Xero. 

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“Imagine it: you and I, sitting on top of thrones. A throne you were robbed of at the last second. The lesser bug would bow before us, beg us and do anything to get in our good graces!”

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“I don’t know…” Xero gazed at him. “Isn’t that like a dictatorship? I’ve had my fair share of experience with those. They aren’t good for anyone. Not even the higher up.”

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Soul Tyrant shook his head. “You’re thinking about it wrong, Xero. It’s a dictatorship if the leader is rude about it. We’ll be the nicest rulers to ever grace this kingdom. The Pale King was a joke. We’ll be better than he ever was!”

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Xero picked up Soul Tyrant’s arm and moved it off of him. “I don’t think this is a good idea. We’re fine as we are. We don’t need a new ruler. Never will need a new one.” 

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With that, Xero turned his back on Soul Tyrant, pulling out a nail and disappearing out of the Soul Sanctum’s halls. 

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Soul Tyrant watched the warrior go. Anger boiled inside of him. How dare he?! Xero would’ve been the perfect second in command! Who had tainted his mind to think the plan was bad?!

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Soul Tyrant huffed. He turned away and retreated to put his plan into action.

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	2. 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some shenanigans before the actual plot begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I added NKG and GPZ after realizing how little Dream Bosses there are and they add nothing but more chaos. I live for it. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who left comments and kudos! It means a lot and encourages me to keep going! :D
> 
> Also, a special thanks to @KillTheActor for beta reading this chapter! It means a lot :)

Life as a ghost wasn’t that bad. 

When he had died, Markoth had been ready for a darkness to consume him. That darkness never came, despite all the time he spent in that damned cavern, waiting. 

Anyone else would’ve been driven mad by the loneliness, but Markoth loved it. It had given him time to meditate, one of his favorite pastimes. So he stayed there in the ashen cave. 

One day, someone had stumbled upon his cave. A vessel. They had challenged him, and Markoth had won the first few fights. The vessel kept returning until his inevitable defeat. 

The darkness had arrived. And Markoth was ready to accept it. 

It never arrived. The vessel had left, a familiar shield like his own spinning around them. Markoth watched them go, a bit confused. 

The afterlife went from good to great when he met Xero and the other Dream Warriors. 

Puzzle pieces aligned after that. Markoth had developed feelings for Xero (which had emotionally crippled the moth for a good while, as Xero was painfully oblivious when he wanted to be). 

They sorted it out after a bit. The icing on top was the day the two adopted Marmu. No one had been happier than they were on that day. 

The Dream Warriors were one big family. Markoth liked being alone, but he couldn't have asked for a better afterlife.

-

No Eyes listened to the liveliness around her. She could hear the playful calls of Galien as he searched for Marmu, who was buried in the foliage of Greenpath exactly two feet away from No Eyes. 

Galien passed No Eyes, searching for Marmu, who snickered as he passed. No Eyes quietly shushed the child, listening intently. 

The faint clanging of nails sounded in the distance. It was nothing new, simply another sparring match between Xero and Markoth. Galien would’ve joined them, no doubt, but even he couldn’t resist Marmu’s pleads to play. 

“Gotcha!” 

Marmu squealed happily as she scrambled out of her hiding spot, hiding behind No Eyes. “Save me, No Eyes! The monster found me!” 

No Eyes let out a soft chuckle. She placed her hands on her hips. “Now, now. You leave my baby alone, you hear?” She held Marmu close. 

Galien stifled a laugh. “Yes ma’am. I’m terribly sorry, ma’am.” 

“Good lad.” No Eyes released Marmu with a head pat.

She could get used to this. 

-

Soul Tyrant wanted to murder someone. His eye twitched as he listened to the screaming that echoed around him. 

Failed Champion was throwing a tantrum. Again. Dear gods…

The maggot was currently on the ground, crying their head off. Lost Kin floated above them, clearly trying to help, but Soul Tyrant knew it would be futile without the wonderful gift of speech. 

White Defender watched with worry. “Dear friend! What’s the matter? Don’t you know we hate it when you cry?” 

“I take joy in the thing’s pain, actually.” The Nightmare King sipped his tea in the corner, grinning. 

“Stuff it, Grimm,” Soul Tyrant snapped. “I don’t see you doing anything about it.”

“The same could be said for you, my friend.” 

“Fear not! For I, the Grey Prince, will solve this!” Zote stepped forward, puffing out his chest. He proceeded to wave Life Ender about. “Hurrah!”

This served no purpose as the maggot cried more. Lost Kin watched the group and shook their head, approaching Failed Champion with a cloth. They wiped away the dirt on the armor, then gave them a supporting pat. 

The crying stopped as the armor was looked over. Satisfied, Failed Champion picked up their mace. 

“Dammit, that was hardly a show,” Grimm muttered, sipping his tea once more in disappointment. Everyone but White Defender shot him a glare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pray for longer chapters and a consistent update schedule


	3. Lost Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revek has a visitor in the glade. Lost Kin reminisces about the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan on updating this twice a day (perhaps more if I’m really motivated).

Revek observed the quiet Glade, a satisfied smile on his face. He knew there was no one there. The ghosts had long moved on, but he liked to pretend there was at least _someone_ left. He had placed small flowers on each grave, a final goodbye to the spirits he had guarded for so long. 

Revek picked up his nail, slinging it across his back as he returned to the front of the Glade. His own grave was marked by a green silk ribbon. Revek fondly remembered the day Marmu had presented it to him. He cherished the gift and just observing it filled an empty hole inside of him. 

The door to the Glade opened and Revek turned to face it, the smile slipping off his face. He folded his arms as Soul Tyrant approached. “What can I do for you?’

Revek had heard stories about the Soul Sanctum. How the Soul Master and his scholars drained the vitality of thousands of poor bugs, all for the sake of attempted immortality. He had never been to the Sanctum, but Xero and Markoth had seen the bodies that were carelessly tossed aside as if they were nothing. It disgusted the guardian to no end. 

Soul Tyrant observed the decorated glade. “I see you’ve done some… decorating.” 

“I have. I’d appreciate it if the graves went untouched.” Revek observed the scholar in front of him, keeping his guard up. He didn’t dare reach for his nail. The Soul Tyrant had Soul abilities, and while Revek was confident in his ability to dodge them, a brawl could mean damage to the Glade. 

“I assure you, my hands will stay to myself.” Soul Tyrant watched Revek. “You’re probably wondering why I am here.”

“I am.” Revek observed the other for any sign of hostility. Soul Tyrant was good at keeping his intentions hidden until the very last moment. 

Soul Tyrant grinned. “I’d be happy to oblige!” His cloak billowed as he began to explain. “I have a plan. One that will reform this cursed kingdom.” 

“Oh? Care to elaborate?” 

Soul Tyrant smirked. “Using the power of Soul and Nail, we’ll take back control. When we’re done with this pathetic kingdom, everyone will worship us!” 

Revek stared at the bug. “Excuse me?”

“You heard it correctly! You’re one of the most skilled nail fighters I know-“

“You don’t know me.”

“-and you’d be perfect for the job! Xero refused, but he’ll see the error in his ways soon enough.”

Revek was almost speechless. For a scholar, this bug seemed rather… what was a nice word for stupid? 

His words soon returned to him. “I’m deeply sorry, Soul Tyrant, but I’ll have to refuse.” 

Soul Tyrant blinked in shock. “What?!”

Revek wasn’t fazed. “Your plan in life didn’t work in the slightest. What makes you think this one will? Xero had enough common sense to see this plan’s flaws, and I see them too. So I refuse.”

Anger flashed across Soul Tyrant’s face. “You’ll regret that, Revek.” A ball of Soul flashed into existence above his palm. 

“Oh, will I?” Revek reached for his nail as soon as he saw the attack. “If it is your wish to battle, please, by all means, challenge me.” 

“A challenge it is then!” The ball fired from Soul Tyrant’s palm. Revek teleported out of the way, reappearing ways away. He lunged at the scholar, nail at the ready. 

Soul Tyrant teleported away, reappearing above Revek in a downward dive. Revek barely managed to avoid it. This bug was stronger than others made him out to be. 

Revek avoided another Soul orb, reappearing in front of his grave. Grabbing the green ribbon, he tied it to his nail’s hilt and teleported away to the Glade entrance. He looked back at the maniacal bug who was wreaking havoc upon the Glade. Revek hissed to himself as he teleported away one final time. 

-

Lost Kin floated in front of its corpse, gazing down at it sadly. It was so far away from any sign of civilization. Surrounded by nothing but darkness, infection, and Malurks. 

White Defender watched the vessel silently grieve. He wished he could’ve done something to help the poor vessel. Had he known it was down here, he might’ve been able to save it. 

Lost Kin tensed at it felt a supporting hand on its cloak. It looked back to White Defender, whose gaze was on the battered corpse. 

“Did you encounter the little knight as well? It was such a curious thing, wasn’t it?” White Defender’s voice was soft.

Lost Kin nodded. It remembered the other vessel. Truly empty and quite the skilled fighter. Lost Kin remembered reaching out to it as its life as the Broken Vessel faded. The other vessel had bowed back when Lost Kin had done the same. 

“I have a statue of it, down in my humble abode. I do wonder how it’s doing.” White Defender took his hand off Lost Kin. “Come now, friend. We mustn’t dwell on the past. Let us return to our friends and leave this place behind.” 

Lost Kin observed White Defender as he gently picked up its corpse. They followed the white clad dung beetle as he moved to the small rooms that had been tucked behind Lost Kin’s final grave. White Defender set the corpse down gently.

“Sometime, we will return here to give you a proper send off. But for now, we’ll tuck you away here. The beasts that dwell here wouldn’t dare go this far.”

Lost Kin nodded again. They allowed White Defender to drape an arm around them, allowed him to pull them close as the pair left the Ancient Basin behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the plot begins... 
> 
> Revek and Soul Tyrant duke it out. Not a long fight, but an important one. 
> 
> We get some soft moments between White Defender and Lost Kin as well.


	4. A Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dream Warriors are informed of Soul Tyrant’s plan.

Marmu swatted at a moss ball, giggling as Markoth rolled it back to her when she batted it back. Markoth smiled warmly and lightly tossed the ball to her. Marmu caught it with four of her arms. 

Revek appeared near the pair, making Marmu jump. The guardian looked broken and angry. His nail was drawn, the green ribbon Marmu had gifted him wrapped around his hilt. 

“Revek, what is it?” Markoth stood up, picking Marmu up as she pawed at his necklace. 

Revek’s grip on his nail tightened. “Soul Tyrant happened. He came to the Glade and asked for my help with some ridiculous plan of his. Of course, I declined, and when I did, he attacked. I couldn’t risk harming the Glade, so I fled.”

Marmu looked between Revek and Markoth. She whimpered softly, prompting Markoth to pet her head. Markoth gazed at Revek. 

“I see. What was this ‘plan’ of his?”

Revek seethed quietly. “He wanted to start a new era, ruled by Soul and Nail. He said he went to Xero first, but he declined, which is why he came to me.” Revek shook his head. “Soul Tyrant is bad news.”

Markoth processed the information, then nodded. He set Marmu down and went to find Xero. The red clad warrior was sharpening a nail. He looked up as the three approached. 

“What’s up?”

“Revek told me about his run in with Soul Tyrant. He also said Soul Tyrant came to you first.”

Xero set down his nail. “That’s right. He did. He was spewing nonsense about a new world order or whatever. I’d be a fool not to decline. Why do you ask?”

“He came to the Spirit’s Glade in hopes of recruiting Revek, then attacked the Glade when he said no.” Markoth folded his arms. Xero’s white eyes widened. 

“Seriously? What are we going to do about it? You know how chaotic that scholar can be.” 

“The Dream Bosses know him the best. I believe recruiting them would be the best course of action,” Revek suggested. 

“Eugh, and deal with Zote? And the maggot? No thank you.” Xero began to sharpen another nail. 

“Xero… if we have any chance of stopping Soul Tyrant, we’ll need their help. As much as I dislike them, I can’t deny that it’s the best solution.” Markoth placed a hand on his husband’s shoulder. 

Xero sighed but gave in. “Fine… I’ll gather the others.” He stood up, clasping his nail to his waist. Markoth nodded and turned back to Revek and Marmu, the latter of which was batting at the air. 

“What’s your qualm with the Dream Bosses? As long as I’ve known you lot, I haven’t heard much about them.” Revek seemed a bit interested. 

Markoth didn’t reply, deep in thought. Marmu tugged at Revek’s cloak. The guardian looked down and Marmu let out a small giggle. “My dads don’t like the Dream Bosses because they’re annoying.”

Revek chuckled lightly. “Is that so? They can’t be that bad, surely. They’re probably like your family, you know.”

-

“ZOTE! Stop posing and _help me_!” White Defender’s tone was one of panic as he struggled to calm Failed Champion, who was crying once more. Grimm laughed maniacally, flames spewing from the thing air around him. 

“Burn, baby, _burn_!” The Nightmare King’s eyes were full of pure joy as he watched the carnage. Zote was posing in front of a mirror, making assorted grunts as he did so. 

“The Grey Prince helps no one but himself!” Zote dramatically waved Life Ender. Lost Kin watched from the corner of the room, their peaceful meditation interrupted once more. They would’ve sighed, but it would be lost in the yelling. 

Soul Tyrant teleported into the room and winced. Gods, they were at it again. Great. 

White Defender helped Failed Champion stand. “I’m taking this one to relax. This mess better be cleaned up _or so help me_.” 

“Yeah, yeah. Hurry up and go, you’ll miss the show if you dwindle.” Grimm danced around Zote as he took a lunge at the Nightmare King. 

White Defender sighed as he stepped out of the room, holding Failed Champion’s hand. He paused as he saw someone appear not far in front of him. Two someones. He recognized the ghosts and he put on a smile as they approached.

“Ah, my dear friends No Eyes and Markoth! What brings you to our humble home?” 

No Eyes smiled warmly. “Hello, White Defender. It’s lovely to hear from you again. We were wondering if Soul Tyrant was here?”

White Defender nodded. “I do believe he is! May I ask why?”

“He attacked Revek and the Glade. He’s up to no good.” Markoth folded his arms, half glaring. 

“Oh dear! Let us go talk to him about this issue!” White Defender let go of Failed Champion’s hand. “Friend, can you make it the rest of the way by yourself?” 

Failed Champion nodded, picking up their mace. They trudged off, sniffling softly. White Defender turned to the ghosts. “This way!”

Soul Tyrant’s eyes widened as he saw the two Dream Warriors. Shit. What were they doing here?! Soul Tyrant teleported away just as White Defender entered with the ghosts. 

“Friends! Two of the Dream Warriors came to visit! Say hello!”

Grimm and Zote stopped their sparring to look. Grimm rolled his eyes as he saw the two. Great, the grandma and McGrumpy. He was hoping they’d bring the child or Galien. The latter was easily annoyed, something Grimm flaunted every time the two crossed paths. 

Zote took one of No Eyes’ hands, getting down on a knee. “Madam! I, the Grey Prince, would be obliged to serve you during your time in this remarkable palace!” 

No Eyes made no comment at that for a moment. She snickered softly. “Would it sway you, Grey Prince, to know that I am not only blind, but also a mother of many? My children have been sleeping for so long, my Prince…” 

She gently removed her hand from Zote’s grip and trailed it down his face. “Please, Grey Prince… won’t you help me wake them from their eternal slumber?” 

Zote was speechless at the whispered words. They carried an ominous air. Paling, Zote backed away. “So-sorry for your loss....”

The Dream Warriors snickered at the pompous prince’s misfortune. Grimm blinked. Huh. Perhaps they weren’t all pushovers. 

“Enough. We’re here on important business,” Markoth stated, calming down within seconds. 

“Ah, yes!” White Defender turned, then froze. Soul Tyrant had vanished. “Oh, now where did he go?”

“He probably saw us coming and fled like the coward he is,” Markoth muttered crossly. 

No Eyes nodded. “It is but a small inconvenience. We would also like to ask you all to join us.”

“Join you? In what, exactly?” Grimm inquired, sitting down in a chair as he crossed a leg. 

“Revek will be joining us in our search for Soul Tyrant. He has a plan, you see. One that will certainly spell misfortune should it be carried out,” No Eyes explained. 

“I see. We’d be happy to help!” White Defender smiled. When can we meet to discuss?”

“Perhaps tomorrow?” 

“It’s a date then!” 

The two shared a laugh. Markoth rolled his eyes at the same time Grimm did. The Dream Warriors departed, leaving the Dream Bosses.

Grimm smirked to himself. He got up and teleported away. Time to cause some havoc.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I start addressing White Defender as Ogrim?


	5. A New Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lost takes Pure to meet a friend. 
> 
> A new and dangerous alliance forms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hope I wrote Pure alright for my first time, a friend on Discord spent hours teaching me.
> 
> The same friend suggested the vessels use sign language, so that is also seen here.

The Pure Vessel looked down upon the palace grounds. It could clearly remember the citizens that once passed through here to see the King. Pure knew what the grounds looked like in the physical world, but here, they had been returned to their past glory. 

Lost watched their sibling, floating behind them. They had never seen the Palace, nor the grounds before it. Seeing what it was made some inner part of them happy. Lost placed a hand on Pure’s shoulder, making the other vessel look over. 

‘Sibling, do you miss it?’ Lost signed, a question they knew would probably go unanswered. Pure only observed them for a moment longer before turning their head away. 

They wanted to respond, and perhaps they would’ve any other time. But seeing the Grounds, half fading in and out of dream and reality, made any response die as soon as they thought of one.

Lost watched them, then drifted closer. Their stubby arms wrapped around the Pure Vessel in an awkward hug. 

‘It’ll be ok, sibling. Lost here. Family here.’ 

Family was an odd word to Pure. The term had never been used by anyone but a few retainers and some other red bug that occasionally visited Pure. The King had said the usage of the term would result in serious consequences, but when Pure and the King had a single moment to share together, the term felt like the right one to describe them. 

Pure looked down at their sibling. ‘Thank you…’

Perhaps they could give being a part of a family a chance. 

Lost grabbed Pure’s hand gently. The taller vessel watched as their sibling floated for the exit. Pure followed as Lost Kin led them to the Royal Waterways. They heard the joyful laughter of Ogrim echoing around the caverns. Had he changed, or was he the same?

Ogrim greeted them as soon as he saw the two. “Friends! So nice to see you again!”

Lost waved at the friendly beetle, then gestured to their sibling. ‘Brought sibling to see you.’

Ogrim observed Pure, then grinned once more. “Ah, an old friend! What brings you here?”

Pure didn’t reply. Lost looked up at them and squeezed their hand reassuringly before answering for them. ‘Want to teach sibling. Teach them to feel.’

Ogrim nodded as he understood. “I see. Worry not, friends! I’ll do my very best to assist you!” 

Lost looked back up at Pure. The taller vessel looked back at their broken sibling. Perhaps there was some hope after all. 

-

The Nightmare Realm was one Soul Tyrant did not enjoy traversing. The Grimmkin sneered at him as he passed, their staffs’ flames pulsing with their jeers. The atmosphere was a dull red and there was a constant whispering, as well as the distant sound of rhythmic thumps of the Nightmare Heart. 

Grimm was sitting at a table in the middle of a clearing, sipping from a cup of tea nonchalantly. He grinned at Soul Tyrant. “Welcome, friend. Sit down and join me for tea, will you?”

Soul Tyrant reluctantly did as he was told. The Nightmare King was a wild card of a bug. He was unpredictable, willing to flip sides of a war at a moment’s notice. Gods, he’d probably _cause_ a war simply because he was bored. 

“Now, I’ve called you here to inform you that you have opposers.” Grimm sipped his tea. “The Dream Warriors plan on teaming with our...friends. No doubt in an attempt to stop this plan of yours.”

Soul Tyrant picked up his cup but did not drink from it. “I didn’t expect this. They have the courage to go against me? Impressive.”

“Indeed, it is. Which is why I offer my services.” Grimm set his cup down, hands folded together as he leaned forward. “Why, you may ask? It’s simple. I haven’t had a good show since my sister started that cursed Infection. Together, you and I can show those ghosts their place.” 

He held out a hand. “What do you say?”

Soul Tyrant couldn’t stop the massive grin forming on his face. Without hesitance, he shook the Nightmare King’s hand. “It’s a deal.”

“Wonderful!” Grimm stood up, flanked by his Grimmkin. “Listen now, my servants. We’re going to help this bug here with his plan. When I call you, answer it and attack. Understood?”

The Grimmkin Nightmares cackled as they vanished, anticipating their master’s call for battle. Grimm gave a wicked smile. “Now, friend, shall we begin?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we love some siblings.
> 
> Soul Tyrant and NKG have teamed :O  
> Someone in the comments predicted it as soon as I finished my planning sheet for this book and I was absolutely stunned. So congrats to HopeStoryteller to absolutely blowing me away.
> 
> 100 hits? :0000 I never would’ve thought something like this would get 100 hits. Thank you all :D


	6. Meeting Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dream Warriors and Bosses finally meet up.

No Eyes hummed to herself, ignoring the absolute chaos around her as she and Marmu observed the Greenpath foliage. 

“Galien, I swear to the Gods, if you don’t get your damn scythe from Gorb, he is going to kill us!” 

“I don’t see you helping, Xero! Stop yelling at me!” 

“Calm down, both of you.”

“I AM CALM, MARKOTH!”

Elder Hu chuckled. “Another wonderful day, I see.” He closed his eyes, propped up against a tree. 

“Yes, calm one too.” No Eyes picked Marmu up, letting the child bat at a passing vengefly. 

Revek watched the chaos with an unreadable expression. Gorb had gotten ahold of Galien’s scythe and was, somehow, swinging it around. Xero and Galien were attempting to get it back whilst weaving between fired projectiles. Markoth simply watched as well, amusement in his eyes as he hid his smirk behind his hand. 

“Galien, you have ten damn seconds to run before I murder you!” Xero, brandishing all four nails, turned on the other. Galien’s eyes widened and he scrambled away quickly. 

Revek sighed and turned to Marmu with a forced smile. Ever since the fight at the Spirit’s Glade, he felt broken. Like there was a vital piece of him missing. He had gotten used to the departure of the Glade’s residents, but the fear of losing the Glade itself filled him with dread. 

Marmu scrambled up to Revek. She looked at his nail. “Ooh, pretty ribbon!” She pawed at the green ribbon around the hilt. 

Revek nodded, letting her see the weapon. “It’s a very pretty ribbon. Do you remember who gave me this ribbon?”

Marmu thought for a moment. She perked up. “I did!” 

Revek smiled as he patted her head. “You did. And I love it a lot. Just like I love you.” 

Marmu giggled as he picked her up. The two floated over to the entrance of Greenpath. According to Markoth, the Dream Bosses were to arrive today to discuss plans. Marmu wanted to give them a warm welcome. 

The group arrived soon after. Ogrim was in the lead, Lost behind him. Another vessel was holding Lost’s hand, stoic. Zote and Failed Champion took up the rear. 

“You must be the Dream Bosses,” Revek greeted evenly. “Welcome.” 

Ogrim was about to respond but was cut off by Zote. “I’m shocked to see a Dream Warrior being something other than egotistical.”

“Rich coming from you.” Xero joined Revek and Marmu, glaring with obvious dislike. “Your ego is probably bigger than all of Hallownest.”

Zote sneered at the warrior. Ogrim laughed nervously in an attempt to end the insults. He turned to Revek. “It, uh, is a pleasure to meet you! I haven’t seen your face around these parts before.”

“I’m a temporary visitor.” Revek kept his even tone, holding Marmu close. “If you will follow me, we can get started.”

The guardian turned and floated into the foliage of Greenpath. Xero glared at the group as they passed, taking up the rear. Two of his nails flew ahead, killing any enemies nearby. 

The group came upon an acid lake. On the other side, a shrine and a pier were visible. Xero floated ahead and helped Revek reveal a small bridge leading across the lake.

“Careful. A maximum of two on the bridge, if you will.” Revek carried Marmu above the acid, watching the Dream Bosses. Ogrim gestured for the vessels to cross first. The taller vessel was led by Lost, their movement almost robotic. 

Ogrim helped Failed Champion cross, leaving Zote alone. The Grey Prince looked a bit nervous, something Xero took immediate notice to. 

“What’s wrong? Scared of a little acid?” The warrior taunted, floating by Zote. “Don’t worry- it only hurts if you’re dumb enough to fall in.”

Zote glared. “I’m not scared!”

“Yeah? Prove it.” Xero’s eyes never left Zote as he watched him step onto the bridge. It creaked, the sound loud to Zote. Shit, that was not good. 

“While we’re young, prince,” Xero called, taking immense joy in the other’s struggle. Zote hissed and decided to run across the bridge, almost faltering when a board dropped into the acid below. Xero cackled as the Grey Prince dove for the other side, panting.

“Xero. Be nice to our guests.” No Eyes’ voice rang out from behind them. Xero rolled his eyes as he disappeared inside the shrine. On the pier was a Moss Knight, idly staring at the lake. 

“Ah, madam! We meet again!” Zote hurried to pick himself up, dusting off his nail. No Eyes didn’t respond to that, looking the group over.

“Please, come in. We have much to discuss.” 

“Come now, everyone.” Ogrim was the first to move, approaching the shrine. He disappeared inside. The tall vessel had to duck to get inside, but the spacious shrine provided more than enough room for them. 

The other Dream Warriors were waiting inside. Galien was leaning against a wall, scythe strapped across his back. Xero and Markoth stood hand in hand, watching silently. Gorb was softly chanting “I am Gorb” over and over, floating in erratic patterns. Elder Hu gave a nod of greeting to the visitors as No Eyes, Revek, and Marmu joined his side.

Ogrim stood across from the group. Lost and the tall vessel remained next to each other, staying in the back. Zote stood as close as he could to No Eyes, while Failed Champion observed with the occasional soft moans. 

Elder Hu cleared his throat. “Now that we’re all here, we can begin. I’m sure we’re all aware of Soul Tyrant’s plans?” 

A quiet murmuring rang through the group. Revek folded his arms. “He’s fleeing, like a coward. Our first objective would be to find him, would it not?”

“I do believe that is the first step, yes.” Ogrim tapped his claws together gently. “But none of us know where he possibly could be.”

“The Soul Sanctum, perhaps? It is his study, after all,” Galien suggested. 

“The sanctum was checked thoroughly by Grimm. There was no trace of anyone but the Follies and Mistakes. Not even the Soul Warriors made an appearance.” 

Markoth sighed. “We’ll have to search, then. I believe splitting into groups would be best as to cover more ground.” 

“If I may interject. I’d like to leave Failed Champion here.” Zote entered the conversation. “I do not doubt they’re strong, but they tend to have… moments.”

The statement made some of the Dream Warriors exchange a glance. A rational suggestion? From Zote?

“I support the idea. They can stay here with Marmu.” Revek nodded in agreement. 

“I don’t wanna stay here!” Marmu protested at the idea, pouting at Revek. 

The guardian smiled. “I know, but we’re going somewhere dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Marmu pouted more. Xero stepped over to the child and knelt down. “Marmu, listen. Do you remember the day Markoth and I went out to the capital?”

“Ye-yes…?” 

“And do you remember how we came back injured? It’s very dangerous out there. I do not doubt you’re strong, but the world isn’t ready for you yet.” He gently wiped Marmu’s tears when they began to fall. “I know, I know. But Markoth and I would be devastated if something happened to our sweet girl. It’s for your safety and nothing more.”

Marmu sniffled. “O-ok… promise you’ll come back soon?” 

Xero was silent for a moment. The others watched the two. Xero finally nodded. “I promise. Would you like it if I bring you home a gift?”

Marmu nodded, perking up a bit. “Ye-yeah! Something pretty!”

Xero smiled and nodded. “Alright. Here.” He summoned one of his nails. “You can keep one of these in case any bad guys come along.”

Marmu took the nail and giggled. “Thank you…!”

Xero patted her head and rejoined Markoth’s side as Marmu ran outside, swinging the nail. He shrugged as he noticed some stares. “She’ll be fine. She’s a strong girl.” 

Ogrim smiled at the warrior. The Dream Warriors were one big family, just as the Dream Bosses were. He looked over to Pure and perked up. “Ah, yes! Friends, I’d like to introduce you to Pure!” 

The tall vessel looked down at the ghosts. Lost squeezed their hand again and Pure nodded as a curt greeting. Only the two red bugs looked remotely familiar, aside from Ogrim and Lost of course.

No Eyes smiled as she outstretched a hand to Pure. “Welcome. It’s always a pleasure to meet new faces, even if I cannot see them.”

Pure looked at her hand. They looked down at Lost. ‘Sibling, what do I do?’

Lost took one of Pure’s hands and connected it with No Eyes’. They helped Pure shake her hand. ‘Handshake. Sign of greeting.’

No Eyes smiled at Pure and released their hand, coming to a silent understanding. They reminded her of the little vessel she had met and challenged. 

Ogrim clapped his claws. “It’s decided then. We depart tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I personally headcannon Markoth and Xero as Marmu’s adoptive dads. The Dream Warriors are literally just one big, sometimes chaotic, family. You get some chaotic moments, then you get some soft moments.


	7. Venture Down Into Deepnest With Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three groups are formed to search Hallownest. Revek, Xero, Zote, and Gorb take on Deepnest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter today. The next chapter will be one hell of an emotional ride, but for now, enjoy the antics of these four.

A map was unraveled across the table. Every area of Hallownest was marked out clearly, along with a few pins to mark the occasional Grub. The group gathered around the map. 

“Hallownest is a big kingdom and we can’t risk searching it slowly. Which is why we’re splitting into groups,” No Eyes explained. 

Markoth nodded. “It’s the fastest way to search for Soul Tyrant. Of course, we can skip Greenpath. We know he’s not here.” The moth looked at Ogrim. “You said one of you searched the sanctum?”

Ogrim nodded. “Grimm left a tablet saying he found nothing.”

“Has the possibility of deceit crossed your mind?” Galien folded his arms. “Perhaps he’s lying. I wouldn’t put it past him.”

“We’ll check when we search the City of Tears. For now, however, we must get searching.” Elder Hu picked up a quill. “Now, one group will have three members opposed to the other two groups of four.

“Zote, Xero, Revek, and Gorb will form the first group, searching the Queen’s Gardens, Deepnest, and Fungal Wastes. Pass through Fog Canyon and call it a search. Ogrim, you’ll be going with the two vessels and No Eyes to scour Ancient Basin and Kingdom’s Edge. Markoth, Galien, and I will search through Crystal Peak and the Resting Grounds. Objections?”

“Can I not be with him?” Zote pointed at Xero. “Gorb’s bad enough.”

“Shut up, Zote, or I’ll finish what that Vengefly King started.”

No Eyes sighed. “Act like a prince and take it with stride. Ogrim requested the vessels to be with him, and Crystal Peak can be rather treacherous.”

Zote huffed but didn’t complain more. “Fine.”

“If there’s no more objections, let’s be off.” Revek picked up his nail, floating behind Zote, who gave a small glare. Gorb followed the two out, whispering his name over and over as Xero prodded the slug along. 

Ogrim turned to Pure and Lost. “Come now, you two. We should be heading off as well.” He walked out. Lost looked up at Pure and nodded, leading their sibling out as well. 

Outside, Marmu was playing with a moss ball. Failed Champion was seated next to her, making small moss sculptures. The two waved goodbye to their friends as they watched them depart. 

-

Zote’s eye twitched in annoyance as he watched Gorb get himself hopelessly tangled in thorny vines. “What are you doing, you imbecile?”

“I am Gorb! Ascend!” 

Zote groaned softly. Revek and Xero were ahead, dispatching any mantis traitors they came across, leaving the Grey Prince to deal with Gorb himself. Zote unsheathed Life Ender and slashed at the vines. Gorb fell to the ground, prompting Zote to pick him up and sling him over a shoulder. Dumbass.

“How do you deal with this blithering idiot?” Zote asked as he approached Xero, who was spearing another mantis. The warrior shrugged. 

“I adjusted to him pretty quickly, but we’re not immune to his… weirdness.” He wiped some Infection off of his nail. “Occasionally, Markoth will try to strangle him.”

Zote stifled a chuckle. He wasn’t here to make friends. He instead gave a soft noise. “I see. You Dream Warriors… you’re all dead, correct?”

“That’s right, but we try not to speak of it, especially around Marmu. Poor kid doesn’t know and we like to keep it a secret. Why do you ask?”

Zote observed Revek as the guardian killed a Loodle. “It’s different. I wonder what it felt like. Dying, I mean.”

Xero looked up at the Grey Prince. “It’s something I’d rather not recall. My death was quick, and that I’m grateful for. But I’m sure not all of us had that. Some of us may have suffered. Gods, I don’t even want to know how Gorb died.” 

Zote watched the red clad bug. The other seemed somewhat regretful. Xero noticed Zote staring and steeled his posture as he floated off. 

“Only Gorb ascends! Ascend with Gorb, the Great Mind!” Gorb writhed in Zote’s grasp. Zote sighed again as he continued on. 

He found Revek and Xero at a large pillar-like structure. Revek had set down his weapon, kneeling in front of it. Zote inclined his head as he approached. “What’s this?”

Neither made a response. Zote observed the thing before his eyes widened. He knew some of the Warrior Dreams had graves, but he hadn’t seen any until now. The face of the small child they had left behind, etched into the stone, was all too familiar. “O-Oh…”

Revek turned to Zote. “That’s all you have to say?” He seemed angry, something that shocked Zote. Revek had always been calm and even, at least when Zote saw him. 

“Revek…,” Xero began, his voice a bit softer. Revek turned on him. 

“Do. Not.” His eyes were hard, his voice almost quivering. 

“For God’s sake, Revek. This is why we never took you or her to the Gardens.” Xero looked at Marmu’s grave. “It’s painful for all of us, knowing she died so young. But we can’t do anything about it now.”

Revek was silent. His gaze traveled to his nail, or more specifically, the ribbon tied around the hilt. He grabbed it and sighed, getting up to float away. Xero followed him silently, leaving Zote alone with Gorb at the totem. Zote frowned to himself before continuing on once more. 

-

The rest of the search through the Queen’s Gardens went silently. The group directly avoided the area where the Queen herself resided, knowing there would be nothing for them there. 

Deepnest gave Zote bad memories. He fondly remembered the beasts that lurked around every corner. Sometimes, he could still feel those cursed webs around his small frame, his cries for help lost to the darkness until the small cur arrived. 

Some confidence welled up inside of him now. He wasn’t weak and pathetic here. He was beautiful, powerful, terrifying! He was the Grey Prince and he was ready to cut down any beast who stood in his way!

Gorb, thankfully, was silent. Xero had promised to “ascend” with him if the slug stayed quiet and attacked when the others did. Gorb had shut up real fast afterwards, easing the slight headache Zote had from the agonizing journey in the Gardens. 

Revek had gone ahead to scour and find safe ways to travel without attacking anything, which left Zote with Gorb and Xero. Zote did not like the ambience Deepnest had and half-wished for Gorb’s incoherent muttering again. 

“I despise Deepnest,” Zote muttered, watching Xero as he scrambled up onto a ledge.

“Who doesn’t? It’s not very welcoming.” Xero caught Gorb as the slug was tossed up, then helped Zote onto the ledge. “No wonder the Mantises closed off the gate.”

“The Mantises?”

“Uh-huh. You might not have been around when the Infection started, but it solidified their decision to close the gateway that connects their village and Deepnest. I only know about it because I used to visit the Mantises with an old… friend.” Xero didn’t take his gaze off the scenery ahead, watching Revek as he dispatched a Dirtcarver. 

“How’d you die?” Zote couldn’t help but ask. He was curious, after all. 

Xero didn’t reply for a moment. He then sighed. “If you really want to know, I guess. Executed for treason. Turned against the king after being infected. There. Don’t speak of it again.”

Zote had questions but knew better than to ask. He watched Xero take Gorb and walk ahead. Revek appeared next to the Dream Boss. 

“His tombstone is in the Resting Grounds. It’s why he never visits the Glade.” He chuckled softly. “And what about you, eh?”

Zote puffed out his chest. “My lovely Bretta. She truly sees me for what I am- the invincible, fearless, sensual, mysterious, enchanting, vigorous, diligent, overwhelming, gorgeous, passionate, terrifying, beautiful, powerful Grey Prince Zote!”

Revek smirked. “Quite the list, I see.”

“Indeed! I’d do anything for my Queen! Any cur to say otherwise is nothing but jealous!”

“How honorable…” 

The two fell silent after that. The silence was welcome this time.

-

The gateway to the Mantis Village was closed. Zote sighed. That was a wrench in their plans to cut through the village to exit Deepnest. 

“We’ll have to go around.” Xero turned away from the corpses piled up at the gate. Zote got up to follow with a small sigh. 

“GORB!”

“Now now, Gorb. We can’t have you attracting unwanted attention,” Zote snapped, fed up with this journey already. 

“Ascend!” Gorb ignored him, shooting a projectile at Zote. 

“Gorb. Not now.” Xero glared at the slug as well, a nail floating by his side. Gorb responded by shooting another projectile. Xero sidestepped it, his white eyes boring into the slug. 

“Gorb!” 

Revek watched Gorb silently. He made a small noise. “Perhaps he’s trying to gain our attention.”

“Why? To annoy us?” Xero folded his arms.

Zote scoffed. He made to move again when something caught his eye. A familiar face, hiding amongst the shadows. 

“My Queen!” The sight of Bretta made Zote’s sour mood vanish instantly. He set Life Ender down, intending on rushing to Bretta. 

A cold hand planted itself on his shoulder. “Don’t,” Revek warned. 

“Why not?” Zote shook his hand off. 

“It could be a trap.”

“Bah! I know my beauty when I see it!” The Grey Prince turned away and rushed at Bretta. “I’m coming, my Queen!”

“Bretta” watched as he approached. When he was a mere foot away, an ungodly screech erupted from her. Her head snapped at an unnatural angle, making Zote flinch as the thing before him revealed itself. 

The Nosk screeched again as it reared up to attack. Zote screamed and scrambled to retrieve Life Ender. A glowing nail flew at the Nosk, piercing its body. The beast snarled in pain as its sights turned to Xero, who had all four nails at the ready. 

“I told you it was a trap” was all Revek had to say as he grabbed his nail and vanished. He reappeared a moment later, slashing at the Nosk and teleporting away before it had a chance to hit him. 

The Nosk hissed and reared again, Infection spewing from its swollen underside. Zote grabbed Gorb and quickly dodged as the ball landed at his position a moment before. The Nosk screeched once more and rushed at Xero at a surprisingly fast pace. The red clad warrior floated to the side to avoid it, a nail chasing the Nosk and hitting its fake head. 

Even if it was an illusion, seeing Bretta hurt angered Zote. He marched up to Xero and hissed. “Watch your aim!”

“Are you- are you kidding me?! It’s not her, Zote!” 

The Nosk took the opportunity it was presented and charged at the two again. It took one of Xero’s nails to throw the bug into a wall. Revek reappeared, slashing at the Nosk. The beast jumped onto the ceiling, balls of Infection dropping down as it moved. 

Zote flailed Life Ender as the Nosk dropped back down to the ground. Its fake eyes were focused on the downed Xero, despite the four nails guarding him. It screeched and charged again. 

It stopped as Revek slashed the monster’s underside where Infection was pooled. It exploded in a mess of orange and the caverns were silent once more. 

Revek helped Xero up, both of them glaring at Zote, who mustered a sheepish grin. “So-Sorry…?”

“That’s all you have to say? Sorry?!” Xero stormed up to the Grey Prince. “You couldn’t listen, could you?”

“I-“

“Save it. We’re done here anyways.” The warrior clenched a fist, his nails retreating. Revek was silent, shaking his head as he followed. Even Gorb was sullen. Zote restrained a sigh as he followed the three through the endless dark once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had three tests today in school. I guess that’s why I took longer to write this chapter. Ah well.


	8. The Abyss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hurtful memories resurface when Lost, Pure, Ogrim, and No Eyes stumble upon the Abyss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter’s short. I had on and off energy to write
> 
> Also fuck mobile emphasis

A sense of dread began to fill Ogrim as he led the small group of four through the Ancient Basin. Lost was leading Pure along, hands intertwined. No Eyes was behind them, stroking a small spirit. When asked, she had simply said it was one of her many children.

Lost remembered the Ancient Basin all too well, but to their relief, Ogrim seemed to get the hint, steering clear of the west side where their corpse was. Instead, he led them towards the center. The dung beetle dispatched a Shadow Creeper that was lurking along a ledge. Pure remained stoic, merely walking along. 

The corridors grew darker as the group went deeper into the basin. The remains of Mawlurks were tucked in seemingly every corner. The air that once carried a hint of Infection was still and eerily silent. 

“There’s a door ahead,” Ogrim whispered, the soft voice almost loud. Lost’s grip on Pure’s hand tightened as they saw it, the familiar tablet softly glowing as the group approached. Ogrim looked over the pier-like structure. 

A giant chasm greeted him. The walls were a pale white that looked gray in the darkness. Ogrim’s eyes widened as he saw the small platforms that were visible. Shells of vessels, lying vacant and broken, as if they were carelessly tossed down. 

Ogrim looked back at the two vessels. Lost had looked down, their hold on Pure’s hand faltering. Pure was looking at the expanse of black. Their gaze traveled along the darkness, then at the pier. Lost stared, motionless.

_The Pale King observed them, gaze hard and unrelenting._

Their stare never faltered away from the shells of their siblings.

_The King felt their head, stroked their horns, caressed their cloak, traced their nail._

Lost’s hand slowly felt their broken shell, then their shredded cloak. Trailing up, it wrapped around their nail, strapped to their back, and pulled it out, holding it in front of them. 

_The King gazed into their eyes. The vessel felt joy at the sight of their father. They reached up to embrace him. The King recoiled, then turned his back to the vessel._

Lost looked at their broken nail, letting it drop to the ground. They looked up. In their eyes, the other three of the group had turned away. 

_The vessel was tossed back down, their cloak whipping in the wind. They watched the pier get further and further away, sadness overtaking them as they slammed into a hard surface. Their shell shattered upon the impact, the fragments scattering into the darkness below._

Lost looked back at the door. They looked beyond it, at the ledges and Mawlurk corpses. 

_They were running, other vessels by their side. Beasts loomed above them but none of them stopped. Run. Flee. Hide. Get away._

Unaware of Ogrim’s voice next to them, Lost drifted away from the darkness. Their nail dragged on the ground behind them as they approached the large spike pit that seemed endless. 

_The vessel had cornered themselves in a room. They didn’t dare move, hoping nobody would walk through the entrance. Their nail was held in their shaking hands. No pale figure approached. Instead, it was a small orange bug, skittering on little legs._

_It approached the vessel, who raised their nail for a moment. The small thing made a soft squeak. The vessel lowered their nail and hand, letting the small bug climb up. It skittered up their cloak. The vessel felt a small twinge of joy at their new friend._

_More little orange bugs emerged from the nooks of the room, approaching the vessel and forming a small circle. Their chitters filled the room._

_Within seconds, the joy the vessel had felt vanished as the bugs rushed them. Fear overtook the vessel as it tried to swipe the bugs away. Its vision was filled with orange, bright and blinding. They tried to grab for their nail, just out of their reach._

_Their sight was failing. The vessel felt remorse. They were going to die and nobody would even know. The orange faded away as the vessel fell limp and to the ground. Their broken shell was flooded with Infection just as the room was._

Lost was jolted out of their memories by a hand. They looked up to see Pure staring back at them. The taller vessel closed its eyes for a moment. 

_“It’s totally ok to feel! Emotions are a part of who we are!” Ogrim smiled at Pure. “Right now, I’m showing signs of happiness! I’m happy to have you and Lost as a part of my family! But it’s also ok to feel sad.” The smile vanished. “When someone’s sad, you try to make them happy!”_

Pure opened their eyes. ‘Sibling… are you alright?’

Lost didn’t reply for a moment. They shook their head. ‘It hurts to remember, sibling.’

Pure looked at the spiky expanse in front of the vessels. Try to make them feel happy. ‘It’s… ok, sibling. Pure here now. Pure always be here.’

Lost kept gazing up at the taller vessel. They then embraced Pure in a hug. Pure blinked, then let their hands fall onto their sibling’s back. 

Lost didn’t let go of Pure during the journey through Kingdom’s Edge. Pure brushed away the stray ash they drifted onto Lost’s horns. Ogrim smiled at the two vessels.

If only it could always be this sweet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The author is:  
> -terribly sorry  
> -guilty of stalling  
> -going to give Lost a shit ton of fluff in the future


	9. Regretting and Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Markoth dwells on past memories. NKG and Soul Tyrant plan their next course of action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter because it kills me not to update but also yay school

Crystal Peak was many things. Loud, for instance. The constant ambience was metal machinery at work, as well as the taka-takas of pickaxes. Markoth resisted the urge to sigh as he floated with Galien and Elder Hu. A sensible group in his eyes. 

The worst thing about Crystal Peak so far was the stupid little flying bugs. They seemed to infest every possible area, wide or narrow. They would’ve gone ignored, but they target the three relentlessly, shooting crystal projectiles that sprouted small bursts of crystals when they hit an obstacle. Markoth glared at one as it shot a projectile in his direction. A golden nail quickly killed the thing. 

“This place is quite pretty, is it not?” Elder Hu inquired, marveling the crystals. 

“I suppose it is. Inhabited with nothing but pests, however.” Galien watched as a crystal shelled bug walked by aimlessly. “Though it is nice to see not everything is hostile.” 

Markoth remained silent. He despised unnecessary talking, even with the closest of friends. The moth’s eye twitched when the group exited a corridor and came face to face with nothing but a chasm. He looked over the edge, seeing nothing but light. “...So, who wants to test it? I nominate Galien.”

“Wh-What?! Why me?”

“Eh, I like Elder Hu better, and it’d be old to nominate the elderly.” Markoth smirked at the look of sheer horror on Galien’s face. “Get down there, now.”

Galien muttered crossly to himself but floated down. He blinked in surprise at his surroundings. A row of graves. The tallest one was daunting, and Galien’s shock increased as he recognized the horns on the tombstone. Sure, he and Xero didn’t get along often, but it still made him freeze up to see the other’s tomb. 

Before he could say anything, Markoth was next to him. The moth’s annoyed sigh at his surroundings trailed off as he too saw the tombstone. Markoth stared at it for a moment before turning away. 

“Let’s go,” he muttered. He didn’t have time to lament over all the regrets he had. The Resting Grounds did a good job at making him remember them. Galien followed the moth, sparing a single glance back at Xero’s grave. Elder Hu bowed to the tombstone before following as well. 

The Resting Grounds, thankfully, were not that big, but Elder Hu insisted on checking the crypts beneath the ground as well. Why anyone would reside there, none of them knew, but it didn’t matter. 

The three stopped at the entrance of the Spirits’ Glade. The door was cracked open. Curiosity filled Markoth. Perhaps the glade was alright and Revek’s worries would be appeased. Galien took the hint and nudged the door open. 

The glade wasn’t unharmed. The decorations Revek had set up were all dumped in a careless pile. The graves had been tampered with, small cracks and notches visible, their fragments scattered about. Galien picked the shards up as he walked. 

“It can be fixed,” Elder Hu commented as he picked up the flowers in the pile, placing one at each grave. “Perhaps our friend will be at peace when he returns.”

Markoth nodded silently, waiting by the door. His mind was elsewhere and he spared glances at the graveyard. It was a morbid place, the final resting place for three of his… friends. He wasn’t sure how long Revek had been here, but he did know the caretaker, Seer, had moved on. Xero had informed him after visiting once, and Markoth couldn’t help but feel just a bit sad for her passing. 

The moth’s mind went to the Radiance. Perhaps if the moths had not forgotten her, none of this would be as it was. The kingdom could be flourishing, and the innocents killed could be alive and healthy. 

Markoth’s thoughts were cut short as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He semi-glared at Galien. “Don’t touch me.”  
“You look upset.” The other ignored the glare and icy tone. 

“I’m not upset.” Markoth turned away. “I’m thinking, that’s all.” 

“...You do know it’s ok to be upset, right?” Galien inclined his head. “I know it may bring back some bad memories, but it’s ok to show how you’re feeling.”

“I’ll get over it eventually.” Markoth wasn’t sure if it was true. He had a tough time dealing with the memories that returned when he ventured into the Resting Grounds. He wondered if anyone who resided here was truly at peace. 

He sure wasn’t. 

-

Soul Tyrant paced in his study. He had returned to Greenpath to find everyone but Marmu and Failed Champion missing. 

“They’re searching for you, you know,” Grimm commented pleasantly. 

“I’m aware,” Soul Tyrant snapped. “I haven’t seen you do much.”

“I slowed down one group by leading a Nosk to them. They have Gorb and Zote. They’ll be lucky to survive.” Grimm bounced a small flame on his finger. “What, exactly, is your plan when they search the city?”

Soul Tyrant turned to the Nightmare King. “Simple. Attack them when their guard is down. They’ll expect us to be in the Sanctum. That’s when we strike.”

“Hm.” Grimm observed the scholar. “And if it comes to a battle?”

“We focus on the combat-skilled fighters. Markoth, Xero, Revek, Ogrim, and Galien. No Eyes and Elder Hu are far too old and frail to fight. Gorb and Zote are too idiotic to handle themselves. We can use them to our advantage.”

“And the vessels?”

“They’re most likely unproblematic. But the main issue lies with the fighters. The ones who were trained to fight.” Soul Tyrant scribbled the five ghosts’ names down on a tablet. “Markoth and Xero will most likely fight as a pair. I’ve seen them do it before, but if we can endanger one, the other will focus on helping their partner. The consequences of love.” Soul Tyrant rolled his eyes. 

“Next, Revek. Fast and strong, but his nail weighs him down and takes a bit to handle when attacking. We use that opening to land a few hits. Taunt the guy about his stupid glade.

“Ogrim. His honor is his weakness. He won’t do anything that goes against it. We can use that against him with some foul play.

“Finally, Galien. Strong but incompetent sometimes. His scythe isn’t the problem, his shell is. It’s bulky so he can take a few hits without worry.” 

Grimm nodded. “How can we use Zote and Gorb to our advantage?”

“Simple. Zote will always try to steal another’s glory. When one is about to win, he’ll rush in to finish the job. Of course, this always fails. So, we can fake defeat, then slip them up when Zote moves in. As for Gorb, he’s a wild card. I don’t know what goes inside that brain of his, but it is clearly not aiding him. The biggest problem, aside from his many projectiles, will be his unpredictability.” Soul Tyrant turned to Grimm. 

“You really have this fought out.” The Nightmare King was impressed. Only a bit, however. The scholar nodded. 

“I’ll do anything to achieve this era. If they weren’t already dead, I’d kill a few of the Dream Warriors. Probably Xero. I’d destroy Zote without hesitation.” Soul Tyrant grinned as a Soul orb floated above his hand. “I can only dream of the day they all grovel at our feet!”

Grimm smirked. “Well, we best not stall then. Lure them all to the capital. We’ll finish this soon.”


	10. Battles Unfolding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two confrontations turn into battles in the kingdom’s capital.

The City of Tears. The kingdom’s capital, stuck in a constant rainfall. If there was one thing the Dream Bosses and Warriors could agree on, it was that the City of Tears sucked. 

“Dude, share the shield, would you?” Zote whined as he watched Markoth position his shield above him. The moth beckoned Xero over, who approached without hesitation. 

“I only have one,” was the curt response. 

“You’re sharing it now!”

“Yes, but Xero is my boyfriend. Of course I’m going to share it with him. Die soggy, princess.”

A small chuckle went through the group as Zote pouted. The group had planned on searching the capital and the sewers below. At the entrance of the sewer system, they stopped. 

“I don’t trust Grimm’s word, so two of you can search the Sanctum again,” Markoth instructed, arms folded. “Four of us will search the city itself while the rest of us search the waterways.”

“The vessels and I can search the Waterways,” Ogrim volunteered. “It is, after all, my home.”

“Xero and I will take the Sanctum.” Revek held his nail. “We do, after all, have a little… chat to have with that scholar.”

“GORB!” 

“I swear to the Pale King, if I have to deal with that cur again, I might just kill him,” Zote immediately said, glaring at the mentioned slug. “I dealt with him in Deepnest. Never again.”

“Fine. Zote can go with to the Waterways and the rest of us will take Gorb. Happy?” Markoth didn’t sound pleased at the aspect of dealing with the Great Mind. Zote, on the other hand, was more than happy. He nodded. 

“I’m glad to hear it. Let us be off then. Search quickly, and we’ll meet up at the fountain.”

-

“I don’t doubt that pesky scholar will show his face once more,” Xero commented as he watched the sanctum halls. Two nails floated by his side, one occasionally darting off to kill a Folly or Mistake. 

Revek nodded. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Grimm was lying to Ogrim. I half-pity the guy. So trusting and friendly. It may prove to be his downfall one day.” He gazed at his nail as he spoke. 

Xero took notice. “You miss Marmu, huh?” He chuckled softly as Revek’s surprised gaze went to him. 

“Is it that obvious?”

“I guess. You spend a lot of time looking at the ribbon she gave you, after all.” Xero watched another nail as it dispatched another Mistake. “I’m sure she’s ok. She’s strong, and Failed Champion will keep her company.” The warrior caught a nail as it boomeranged back. 

Revek was silent for a moment. He sighed. “I know. I just worry about her. I failed my past duty to protect the ghosts in the glade. I failed to protect their home. I don’t want to fail with her.”

“And you won’t.” Xero gazed ahead calmly. “None of us will. We’re going to stop this plan so Marmu can be safe from Soul Tyrant. That is where my devotion to fight Soul Tyrant comes from.”

Revek nodded silently. He gave Xero a small grin. Truly a man who loved his family. Gripping his nail, the guardian teleported away to kill any upcoming enemies.

Xero watched the guardian from afar. He sighed to himself, disgust on his face as he walked by a body of a poor bug. Truly, he wished he had been around to stop Soul Master while he was alive. Perhaps all these innocent bugs could’ve been saved. He didn’t think the scholars under the leader were to blame. They were just as much as a victim as the bugs that had their Soul drained. 

As expected, the main chamber of the Sanctum was empty. Xero glanced around, the smooth glass floor providing him vision as to what was below. He only saw a floor and bodies. Ignoring the shudder that the sight sent through him, Xero watched the quiet scene. 

One of his nails suddenly turned and sped towards the doorway. Xero turned to watch it barely skim the side of Soul Tyrant’s cloak. The scholar grinned at the warrior, six Soul orbs floating around him.  
Xero sighed to himself, his other three nails preparing themselves. 

“A man of many words,” Soul Tyrant commented. “I’ve been wanting to battle you for quite some time.”

“Stop talking and fight if that’s your wish.” 

“Very well, then!” The nails and Soul orbs flew at each other, both sides determined to win this fight. 

-

“Ah, home! Just as welcoming as I remember!” Ogrim chuckled lightheartedly at his familiar surroundings. 

“Disgusting,” Zote muttered crossly. “If I had known it would be this filthy, I’d have taken Gorb’s company.”

Lost watched the Grey Prince curiously. Pure was behind them, also watching and trying to figure out how to feel about Zote. 

“It has its beauties! The flukes, though, are somewhat of a nasty species. Best to stay away from them.” Ogrim’s small frown was replaced with his trademark smile. “But enough on that! We have a job to do.”

The Waterways, thankfully, was one of the quieter areas so long as they avoided the Flukes. Occasionally, sounds of the Flukes would drift their way, prompting Ogrim to avoid the area. Even he knew nobody wanted to mess with the Flukes. 

It was at the nearest bench where they saw him. Grimm leaned on the lopsided furniture, grinning at the group. “Well, well, well. We meet again.”

“Grimm? Why are you here?” Zote’s voice lacked its confidence, replaced with confusion. 

“I’m here to stop you, of course.” The Nightmare King smiled widely. “On Soul Tyrant’s orders.”

Ogrim could only watch in silence. Some unfamiliar feeling consumed him. He had given Grimm his full trust and the other had lied to him. He could only mutter a soft “Why?”

Grimm heard him. “Why?” He laughed. “Oh, dear Ogrim. You’re far too easy to betray. So trusting, so kind. So… naive.” His voice held a tone of mockery. “Of course I took my chance. But don’t mistake me for a lackey. I’m not on Soul Tyrant’s side because I agree with his plan. I’m on his side for my own gain.” 

Zote stared as Ogrim grew angry. “You have no honor! It’s about time someone beat some sense into you!”

Grimm laughed, several fireballs flaring to life around him. “Go on, then. Show me how honorable I should be!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be Ogrim vs NKG and Xero vs Soul Tyrant. Revek will have his 1 on 1 with him soon. 
> 
> Meant to post this yesterday but stuff came up and is continuing to rise. 
> 
> Also nobody told me that the chapter order was fucked but it’s fixed as of yesterday


	11. Xero vs Soul Tyrant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Xero and Soul Tyrant battle it out at the sanctum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ogrim vs NKG comes next chapter. This is only because I want big battles like these to have their own chapters.

Soul orbs flew through the air, spinning counterclockwise. Xero ducked as they flew over his head and chucked a nail at Soul Tyrant. The mage teleported above the warrior, slamming down into the ground with a dive. Xero barely avoided it and another nail flew at Soul Tyrant as the latter appeared on the opposite side of the arena. 

The glass floor creaked beneath the battling bugs as another dive shook the room, loose shards of stone rattling with the shockwaves. Xero chucked two nails at Soul Tyrant, dodging another round of Orbs in the process. One nail flew past the scholar’s head while the other tore through his cloak. Both boomeranged back to their wielder. 

“For someone who talks a big game, you sure do dodge a lot,” Soul Tyrant taunted, two Soul orbs appearing at his side. One flew at Xero, who dodged. To his shock, it homed in on him, sending him across the room. The warrior hissed as he stood.

“You fight well, for a coward such as yourself.” Two more nails flew at Soul Tyrant. The scholar avoided it, another homing orb aimed for Xero. This time, he knew to watch it as it once again redirected itself. Another shockwave shook the room as Soul Tyrant tried to slam into his opponent again. The floor had several cracks in it now. Xero looked down as they widened beneath his feet. 

Something flashed in his vision and he narrowly jumped over six more Soul orbs. Soul Tyrant laughed as he aimed another homing orb at Xero. A nail flew to intercept it, slicing it in half. “How poorly you do when there is no one here to save you. I’m surprised you even had the skills to be a part of the King’s guard.”

Xero hissed to himself but didn’t reply as he sent three more nails at the scholar. All four boomeranged back, following the red-clad bug as he dove to avoid another six orbs. He watched the nails as they sliced several orbs in half. 

Another dive shook the room. The battle came to a stop as the floor beneath the two cracked. Small shards of glass fell, giving both bugs about no time to react before the entire thing collapsed. Soul Tyrant simply teleported away as Xero fell with the floor. He landed on his feet, eyes widening at the walls of bodies stacked atop one another. He looked up and barely dodged another dive. They didn’t stop there, though, Soul Tyrant continuing his relentless slams. One caught Xero’s cloak, making the warrior stumble. Soul Tyrant reappeared, stabbing one of Xero’s own nails into the warrior’s cloak, successfully pining him to the ground. 

“You’re foolish to think you can stop this,” the scholar laughed, Soul forming an orb above his palm. “And now you’re going to face the consequences of it. 

“You wish.” A bitter chuckle left Xero as he flicked a wrist. The other three nails homed in on the scholar from different directions. The nail pinning Xero to the floor wrenched itself free to join the others as they circled Soul Tyrant. Xero stood up, sending all four nails at the scholar. Soul Tyrant teleported away and the four nails went on the defensive, blades pointed outwards as they circled their wielder. 

Soul Tyrant reappeared, six more orbs appearing. Taking a nail in hand, Xero sliced through two of them as they went past. A light in the room gained the warrior’s attention, his gaze landing on a door he hadn’t seen before. Xero turned and made a dash for it. 

“Running away, are we, Xero? You should know you can’t run from a doomed fate!” Soul Tyrant’s voice rang out in the chamber. Xero ignored it as he fled, using a nail to shatter a window. He jumped into the rain, using a nail to slide down the Sanctum’s side. Above him, he could see Soul Tyrant as the scholar aimed more homing orbs. 

At the fountain, Revek was watching the area, the other Dream Warriors, excluding Marmu and Xero, by his side. “He’s been gone for a bit.”

“He’s probably fine.” Galien was unconcerned, sharpening his scythe. He was about to speak more but was interrupted by a nail embedding itself nearby. Xero landed besides it, barely having time to run as Soul Tyrant slammed into the earth. 

Markoth and Revek readied their weapons but didn’t move. Xero didn’t seem to need help yet and their interference might distract him. Xero watched them as he dodged another homing orb, sending two nails back at their origin. 

Soul Tyrant winced as both nails struck before boomeranging back to Xero. The warrior watched the scholar, both of their cloaks fluttering in the wind. Both had suffered wounds, but neither wanted to admit defeat. 

“Are you finished?” Xero’s voice rang out across the miniature battlefield, calm as ever. 

The lack of any adrenaline in the warrior’s voice made Soul Tyrant falter. He regained his composure quickly. “Never! I won’t stop until I see you fall!”

Xero grabbed two nails and rushed at Soul Tyrant. His nails sliced through the two homing orbs, his other two nails flying forward. Soul Tyrant dodged them both, then used his arms to block the nail slashes from Xero. The pain was too much. He wasn’t going to win unless he played dirty. 

Soul Tyrant grabbed the nails. He flung the hovering ones away and blasted Xero with a close-range Soul orb. Satisfaction filled him as the warrior’s white eyes widened. Xero was sent into a building, hitting the ground as his nails fell to the floor. 

Soul Tyrant hovered above Xero to finish the job. As he dove towards him, a golden flash seared across his vision. A shield appeared above Xero. Soul Tyrant hissed as he looked up. Markoth was shooting him a glare. 

“Stay out of it!” Soul Tyrant yelled at the moth, more Soul orbs appearing at his side. 

Markoth shook his head. “I cannot. You mess with one of us, you mess with both of us.” Saying this, several golden nails appeared. Xero stood up, his pale blue ones floating alongside Markoth’s. Soul Tyrant fired more homing orbs as the nails rushed in a flurry


	12. Action in the City

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ogrim vs NKG
> 
> Soul Tyrant continues his fight against the Dream Warriors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing this, you don’t even know 
> 
> I’m so hyped I might even do another chapter tonight. Enjoy the fights!

Ogrim burrowed beneath the ground as Grimm’s flames soared over his head. Popping out of the damp earth, the dung beetle quickly balled it up, hurling it at Grimm. The Nightmare King teleported away to avoid it, reappearing above Ogrim. His cloak turned spear-like as he lunged at Ogrim. 

Around them, Zote, Lost, and Pure were fighting off Grimmkin. The devious beings teleported in and out of battle, sneering. Lost swiped furiously in an arc, keeping their blind spot protected. Pure stabbed at several Grimmkin as they bombarded them. Only one Grimmkin Nightmare targeted Zote, cackling as the Grey Prince swiped at it with frustration. 

The caverns were lit up as more hellfire erupted from Grimm’s cloak. Ogrim sidestepped the fiery bat, then burrowed into the ground. He slashed at Grimm with an uppercut, sending the other back. Grimm snarled before teleporting away, reappearing above Ogrim with another spear-like lunge. Ogrim quickly burrowed into the ground to avoid it. 

When the dung beetle emerged, he was met with a slash to the face. Grimm teleported away before he could attack. Something hot beneath him made him look down just as he was engulfed in more hellfire. Red licked at his vision as the fire dwindled away, the once white armor now gray. Ogrim burrowed back into the earth as three more fire pillars erupted behind him. Grimm reappeared nearby, cloak opening to fire out more flames. Ogrim headed towards him, slashing him again as he avoided the fire bats. 

A Grimmkin slammed into a wall as Lost slashed at it with their nail. The vessel leaped at their opponent, closing the gap between them within seconds. They finished the Grimmkin off, the small thing squealing as it teleported away. About two more took its place. Lost leaped away as they aimed fire attacks at the vessel. 

Pure was a white blur, slashing at several Grimmkin Nightmares. They aimed a small bout of Soul nails at one, the nails firing off in rapid circular motions. Pure stabbed their nail into the ground and several large, sharp pillars erupted from the ground. One speared through a Grimmkin, making the devilish creature disappear with a burst of flame. 

Zote flailed Life Ender as he took on his own fight. The Grimmkin cackled. Zote huffed and threw up a hand. A Zoteling appeared besides him, wings sprouting from its back. It flew at the Grimmkin, its charge short-lived as it was engulfed in flame. Its sacrifice was not in vain, as Zote immediately took the opening he was given and stabbed through the Grimmkin with Life Ender. A smaller Grimmkin Novice took its place alongside another Grimmkin Nightmare. Another Zoteling emerged, a small ghost-like thing. It immediately blew up in the Grimmkin’s faces. 

Ogrim barely dodged the spiky pillars as they sprang up from the ground. Nightmare King Grimm hadn’t relented thus far, attacking Ogrim with a swipe from his sharpened cloak as soon as the spikes disappeared. Ogrim parried it with his claws, then burrowed into the ground to gain distance. He balled up more earth, flinging it at Grimm, who took one before teleporting away. 

Grimm reappeared above the arena, cloak billowing outwards. Small balls of flames rained down on Ogrim, who had barely any time to dodge. One hit the dung beetle square in the chest, charring his armor more. Grimm wasted no time, his spear once more hitting Ogrim in the face. The honorable fighter hit the wall, eyes drooping. 

“You were a fast dancer. But not fast enough. See how far your honor takes you next time.” Grimm snapped once. Immediately, all the Grimmkin flocked to their master, softly cackling. Grimm echoed the cackle as his figure teleported away right before Ogrim blacked out. 

-

Soul Tyrant avoided another golden nail as it flew by him. Markoth had never relented his attack since he first started. His Dreamshield floated around Xero as the warrior stayed on the offensive. Soul Tyrant growled. That damn shield had protected Xero from several attacks. It was impossible to bypass, the shield merely retracting for a few seconds before resuming its duties. 

The Follies and Mistakes had tried to aid their master, to no avail. No Eyes had immediately summoned several spirits of the city’s deceased sentries and the failed experiments were kept busy. Soul Tyrant had tried to distract No Eyes a few times, but the other never faltered as she sang on. Galien and Revek dealt with the Soul Warriors that had appeared. 

Xero grabbed a nail, aiming it for Soul Tyrant again. He was about to attack when a flash of flame appeared in front of him, making him stop short. A Grimmkin laughed as it aimed another attack. Xero stabbed through the pesky thing. Two more Grimmkin Nightmares took its place and Xero found himself switching to defense, using the shield Markoth had loaned. 

The moth himself continued to attack Soul Tyrant. Another Dreamshield floated around him, aiding him in blocking attacks. Golden nails flew through the rain relentlessly. 

A scream cut through the air. Markoth’s gaze shifted to Xero’s falling form, completely engulfed in flame. Immediately, several nails speared through the Grimmkin hovering nearby, worry for his significant other overtaking the moth for a moment. Soul Tyrant took this opportunity, aiming a Soul orb for Markoth. The shield was the only thing that saved him, also bringing Markoth’s attention back to the fight at hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Xero rise shakily. 

Grimm appeared near the fountain, cackling. More Grimmkin appeared. No Eyes stopped singing at the Nightmare King’s arrival. With a single sweep of his cape, Grimm sent several fire bats at No Eyes, Galien, and Revek, giving the Soul Warriors time to attack. Galien cut through one as it readied its nail. Revek dispatched another with quick succession. 

Xero was struggling. Everything hurt as pillar after pillar of fire tried to engulf him again. The shield did nothing to stop it as the warrior dodged another round of fire. Soul orbs flew past him as Soul Tyrant grinned victoriously. Xero’s eyes widened as he saw Markoth completely surrounded by the scholar’s underlings, the moth’s golden nails spearing one after another. 

“What are you gonna do, Xero? Your boyfriend is finished. Your team is finished. You are finished.” Soul Tyrant’s voice was all Xero heard as fire engulfed his form. Xero screwed his eyes shut, his nails clattering to the ground. 

“We’ve won this battle, it seems.” Grimm smiled at the chaos below, floating next to Soul Tyrant. “Take the severely injured. We could use some leverage.”

“Right you are. I’ll finish up here if you want to do that.” Soul Tyrant fired a few nonchalant homing orbs at Revek as the guardian tried to attack. “I’d recommend Ogrim and this sorry bug.” He kicked Xero’s fallen form. The pain barely registered in Xero’s mind. Nothing could beat out the lingering agony from Grimm’s hellfire. 

“I’ll fetch them momentarily. Clean this up and we’ll regroup.” Fire was all Xero saw before blacking out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh oh the villains won and got some leverage. 
> 
> I didn’t write this in but I like to imagine Gorb is just a third (or sixth) wheel here. Like, he’s there but he doesn’t do anything nor gets attacked. He’s that unhelpful lmao


	13. Regret #?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ogrim regrets a lot of things.

“Watch them. Make sure they don’t try anything,” Soul Tyrant ordered a pair of Soul Warriors, shooting a look at the two injured bugs. Neither Xero nor Ogrim looked at him. Ogrim was polishing his armor, scraping off the ash. Xero chose to sulk, facing the wall, visible burns on his body. Only his head had been spared due to the helmet.

“How long do you plan to keep us, huh?” Xero’s voice was hard and lacked any emotion other than hatred. He still didn’t look at Soul Tyrant. 

The scholar watched him with amusement. “The same amount of time you spend sulking. Get used to it here.”

A nail went flying at Soul Tyrant. The scholar simply caught it and tossed it to a Soul Warrior. The same warrior had two of Xero’s other nails. Soul Tyrant smirked. “You’re going to run out of nails. Be grateful I don’t take the last one.”

“Literally die again,” Xero hissed, holding his last nail close, finally glaring at the scholar. 

“Keep dreaming, ghost boy.” Soul Tyrant turned to the silent Ogrim. “And do you have anything to say?”

Ogrim simply shook his head. He had been sullen and resolved ever since he had woken up. Soul Tyrant scoffed but floated away, leaving the two with the Soul Warriors. 

As soon as he was gone, Xero’s nails speared the Soul Warrior holding them. They then rushed the other guard, returning to Xero when the guard dropped dead. Xero watched Ogrim with a deadpan expression. “Get up. We need to go.”

“What’s the point?” Ogrim softly sighed. 

“Ogrim, don’t you dare fall into hopelessness right now. Do it later when we don’t need to escape.” Xero turned away from the dung beetle, trying to pick the lock on their cell with a nail. 

Ogrim watched him. “You weren’t there… I fought with everything I had. Honor, integrity, dignity, everything. And it wasn’t enough.”

“Yeah, and I fought with Markoth, four nails, and a shield. But not even that can stand up to foul play.” Xero continued to pick the lock. “Not every fight will be an honorable one. Your less honorable opponent will take any opportunity given.”

Ogrim sighed again. “But if honor isn’t enough, what is?”

“Perhaps nothing. Who knows?” Xero shrugged as he gave up on the lock. “You can’t fight honorably all the time. We can talk more about it later. Right now though? We have a goal. If you want a rematch, you won’t get it rotting away here.”

Ogrim nodded, a small bit of confidence returning. He stood up, looking at the floor. The tiles were made of metal, connected by screws. “Can you unscrew these?”

Xero blinked at the odd request but his four nails got to work, slowly unscrewing the four screws. With Xero’s help, Ogrim pried open the tile. Underneath was nothing but earth, making Ogrim nod. He got to work, digging a hole quickly. Xero hopped down after, replacing the tile. His nails phased through the floor after him. 

Ogrim couldn’t help but smile as he dug. He loved being in his element and the damp earth felt good on the slight burns he had suffered. He spared a glance back at Xero, who was still following. The taller bug had to duck so his helmet wouldn’t scrape the top of the small tunnel. 

Ogrim poked his head out as it broke the surface. He scrambled out of the hole in a slight battle stance. Machinery surrounded him, powered off. Ogrim helped Xero out of the hole and sighed. “Quite the place.”

“Revolting,” Xero muttered, glancing at the machines. “I don’t know much about this place, but what they did here was absolutely revolting. Sucking out Soul like it's nothing.” He shuddered slightly. 

“Worry not, friend. They’ll be avenged when we stop that scholar.” Ogrim smiled softly. He exited the room quietly. Xero’s nail flew ahead, taking care of any enemies the pair saw. 

“What do we do now?” A voice made them stop. Ogrim pulled Xero against the wall, listening as Grimm’s voice joined Soul Tyrant’s.

“What do we do? It’s simple- we use our leverage accordingly. The vessels see Ogrim as a father figure. Surely, his capture has an effect on them. As for Xero, Markoth will want our heads. We use that blind rage to our advantage.”

“And their injuries?” 

“Will be treated within time. Though the burns will linger. A speciality of mine.” Grimm sighed, satisfied. “I’d have to stop myself from inflicting more. Their fear was so… tasteful. I can only imagine the fear of several bugs once we get this plan to its conclusion.”

Ogrim felt Xero tense behind him. He motioned for the warrior to stand down, slightly afraid of the Nightmare King. If it came down to another battle…

Soul Tyrant chuckled. “I see. And what of the others?”

“There'll be no problem with them. There’s no possible way they could stand up to us. Not when we have two of their teammates, not after that fight we won.” Grimm walked past the two hiding bugs, his back to them. Ogrim burrowed into the ground while Xero floated up, clinging to a rafter. 

“And if they do try to rescue our guests?”

“Stop them. Threaten the captives. I don’t care what it takes.” Grimm turned to Soul Tyrant. Xero watched from above, glaring daggers at the Nightmare King. 

“Yes, sir. My scholars and I will be ready.”

“Excellent. Dismissed.”

Soul Tyrant floated off. Grimm folded an arm, tapping his chin with a smirk. “So… how’d you escape?”

Xero hissed as he dropped to the ground to avoid a fire bat. His white eyes bore into Grimm’s red ones. “Call it luck.”

Grimm’s fanged smile widened. “And where’s the other?”

“Dunno. Maybe he got tired at looking at your ugly mug and fled.” Xero resisted the urge to look at the last place he had seen Ogrim. Grimm’s smile fell, turning into a snarl. 

“You know… I was going to let you live. But after that insult, I think I’d rather watch you die.” 

As fighting broke out, Ogrim pondered what to do. He should help his ally… but the Nightmare King was strong. Too strong. Going out there would be a death sentence. Silently apologizing to Xero, Ogrim fled, trying his best to tune out the agonized shrieks of his friend behind him. 

-

They were a mess. They were an absolute mess. 

Nobody said a word as practically everyone collapsed upon the shores of the Blue Lake. Only Gorb was fine, floating above his friends. 

“Sweet Pale King… I am exhausted,” Zote panted, struggling to breathe. 

“For once… we agree” was all Markoth could mutter, staring at the waters. Nobody had escaped the battle unharmed. He had a few minor burns and scrapes, nothing too simple. Galien, Gorb, and No Eyes were also mostly unharmed. Elder Hu had escaped with nothing but a nail strike to the head.

Revek was examining his chipped shell, one of the horns broken off. Zote had a huge scar across his chest from one of Markoth’s nails after not shutting up (a mistake on the moth’s part, but it worked). Lost and Pure only suffered small burns as well, though Pure was helping repair Lost’s nail after the blade had dulled during the fight. 

Markoth’s mind was only on the two missing members of their party. He couldn’t erase the exact moment his boyfriend had been engulfed in red fire, nor the pain in Xero’s eyes as he was teleported away. Markoth had taken his anger out on a poor building afterwards. 

One glance at the vessels confirmed any suspicions anyone had about Ogrim’s capture. Lost was constantly leaning on Pure, something they did often to Ogrim. Pure had tried to mimic Ogrim’s comforting pets, but it wasn’t the same. 

The current plan was to heal up and regroup, then venture to the sanctum. Nobody was eager to return, however, and the lack of any motivation to do so did nothing to ease the group’s moods. 

The group continued to rest in silence. The mood was heavy, despite the usually relaxing scenery. That was until Gorb floated in front of them. 

“Gorb!” he cried. “Ascend! With Gorb!”

“Not now,” Galien muttered, sharpening his scythe. 

Gorb ignored him. “I am Gorb! The Great Mind!” 

“We know,” Zote groaned. “You have a bigger ego than I do, and that says something.”

“You admitted it, though,” Revek commented with a small smirk. 

“Don’t milk the moment, Revek.”

“Gorb!” The slug was persistent, swinging his bulbous head all around. 

“What does he want…?” No Eyes pondered, getting up to stroke the slug. 

“Gorb… ascend…,” Gorb muttered. 

“Ignore him. He speaks nothing but gibberish,” Zote resolved, closing his eyes. That made Gorb shriek his name again, to the annoyance of everyone else. 

Just as Zote was about to get up and pummel the bastard, he was stopped by Ogrim suddenly appearing next to him. Zote yelped, fumbling Life Ender. “Wh-what the hell?! What are you doing here?!”

Ogrim shook his head. “Coming for back-up, of course.” He stroked Lost as the vessel tackled him in a hug. 

“Elaborate, kindly?”

“Well, you see, Xero and I had been escaping. But Grimm saw Xero. And while they fought, I… you know… ran.”

Markoth was on him in an instant. “You ran?! Are you fucking kidding me?!” He had pinned Ogrim to the wall. The anger in his eyes and voice made Ogrim flinch. He went to respond but the materialization of a golden nail made him stop. 

“Don’t say a fucking word. Give me a real good excuse not to spear you with this nail right now,” the moth snarled. 

“Markoth, dear. Calm yourself,” No Eyes scolded gently. “We all know you’re worried, but Ogrim is injured and probably tired from his journey. Let him go so he may rest.”

Markoth was silent for a moment, a fist clenched. He discourtesly dropped Ogrim and stalked off to the other side of the area. Ogrim watched him, rubbing his claw against his arm for a moment. 

Add another regret to the list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let Markoth say fuck. He deserves it.
> 
> I had to redo some stuff, like taking out some of this chapter and making for the next one. It’s so angsty. 
> 
> I don’t know what happened to this fic anymore tbh. It started as an experiment, only here because someone was interested. I’m probably gonna write a lot of one shots or short stories when I finish this, multi chap fics are an experience so far.


	14. Perhaps We’re Doomed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could not for the life of me write a summary for this.
> 
> Also I write everything in this while listening to various Pokemon songs and idk if you can tell what vibe the song had when I write. I’ll write more action if the song’s a battle theme. It’s insane

There was so much fire. It was everywhere, burning him slowly. And he couldn’t do anything to put out the never-ending flames. 

“Had enough?” Grimm asked, the smile returned long ago. Oh, how he loved teasing his enemies. The fear never ended so long as the flames never ended. Metaphorically, of course. “You deserve this, you know.”

“Shut up,” Xero hissed, holding himself as flames licked at his body. His cloak was wrapped around him in a feeble attempt to protect himself. He never wanted to see a damn flame after this. 

Grimm laughed. “How pitiful. Absolutely pitiful. I thought you were a strong fighter. Perhaps I was wrong?” 

Xero didn’t reply. Fuck these damn nightmares. He knew he was in no real danger, but he’d be damned if he came out of this hell unscathed mentally and emotionally. 

Soul Tyrant watched the other bug with a bit of a disturbed expression. The Nightmare Heart was beating at a faster pace in the distance. “Pe-perhaps that is enough for a day?” Soul Tyrant suggested, feeling a bit bad for Xero despite their less than good relationship. 

Nightmare King Grimm turned to him. “Hmm… do tell why I shouldn’t continue?”

Soul Tyrant tensed at the small glance Xero was giving him. “We-well… we need him alive to use him. An-and I’m sure he’ll be more cooperative after this.”

Grimm looked back at Xero. “Will you be cooperative if I stop, dear?”

Xero’s gaze went from the Nightmare King to Soul Tyrant. The scholar was giving him a look that screamed “Please listen”. Slowly, Xero nodded. 

Grimm inclined his head. He gave in that easily? Huh. He thought Xero would at least try to resist. With a snap of his fingers, the flames disappeared and two Grimmkin helped the other to his feet. “Very well, then. One wrong move and our little session continues.” He examined Xero. He looked nothing but solemn. Good enough for the Nightmare King. He turned to the Grimmkin. “Take him back to the lab and do as my partner tells you.”

The Grimmkin nodded, leading Xero into the red mist that was the Nightmare Realm. Soul Tyrant gave Grimm a look as soon as they were gone but chose to say nothing as he teleported off. 

-

Their team was literally falling apart by the second. 

Lost watched the fight with a sense of dread. Markoth was trying to kill Ogrim again, the latter only burrowing away when he absolutely needed to. Lost felt a bit bad for the moth. They understood where he was coming from, but he didn’t have to be so violent about it. 

They hadn’t left the Resting Grounds since arriving. A Soul Warrior had been sent a day ago with a tablet. No Eyes had to restrain Markoth as the messenger arrived. Soul Tyrant requested a meeting with them the next day. No Eyes had kept her reply secret as she sent the messenger back. 

Pure spent a few moments rescuing Ogrim from another nail barrage before joining the others as they prepared to finally leave the graveyard. Markoth huffed as he gave up, sulking next to No Eyes. 

The walk to the City of Tears was long. The threat that loomed over everyone’s heads did nothing to calm their nerves. Even Gorb was silent as they stopped in front of the fountain. 

Soul Tyrant emerged from the sanctum silently. Two Soul Warriors were behind him. The scholars all stopped in front of the group. Soul Tyrant gazed at them. “I’m glad you took my offer into consideration.”

“What do you want?” Markoth’s voice dripped with venom and contempt. He regarded the scholar with eyes full of intense hatred. 

Soul Tyrant did his best to ignore it. “Simple. We want you to leave us alone. Do that and we’ll return Xero to you.”

“And how do we know this isn’t another trap?” Galien folded his arms. 

“It’d be foolish to decline. Of course, we can always continue this feud, delay the inevitable longer. Of course, you won’t get Xero back, but we all have to make sacrifices.”

“No,” Markoth snarled immediately, golden nails materializing behind him. “Give me my boyfriend or I will march in there and kill every last one of you.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Soul Tyrant snickered at that. “No, seriously. Try it. It’d be such a show for someone immortal like myself.”

Markoth glared daggers at the scholar. If looks could kill, Soul Tyrant would’ve dropped dead a long time ago. The moth warrior backed down, however, knowing he was outnumbered. 

Soul Tyrant turned to one of the Soul Warriors. “Be a doll and bring out the captive, would you? Let’s give them something to look at.”

The Soul Warrior saluted and teleported away. The silence was bone-chilling as everyone awaited the scholar’s return. They eventually did so, leading Xero out of the sanctum. The red-clad bug looked broken, eyes dull and armor slightly singed. His shredded cloak was even more tattered and burned. 

It took every ounce of Markoth’s self control to not rush to the Soul Warrior and kill it. Soul Tyrant smiled as he roughly slapped Xero, making the latter wince slightly in pain. “See? Alive and kickin’.”

“I’m going to absolutely fucking murder you,” Markoth hissed with as much venom as he could muster. 

“You won’t be the first to try, Grumpy. Now, do we have a deal? I think it’s a fair trade.” Soul Tyrant held out a hand. 

“And that deal would be…?” Zote asked with caution. He did not want to see the bastard get his way.

“Well, seeing as the original offer is out of the question, how about a freebie?” Soul Tyrant’s eyes gleamed. “Your friend here already told us everything we needed to know. He’s honestly just fodder at this point.”

Xero glared at Soul Tyrant and kicked him as hard as he could. Sadistic glee washed over Markoth as the scholar hissed in pain. Xero took the chance, two nails spearing the Soul Warriors as he ran for the group. Zote and Markoth shoved him behind them, nails drawn as Soul Tyrant recovered, a slight bruise forming on his leg. 

“So you’ve made your decision. Fantastic.” The scholar looked at the bodies of the Soul Warriors. He tried to muster a smug grin, though anyone could see he was still in pain. “Go on, then. Keep fighting. We’ll even give you two days to rest, just out of fairness. After all, it’d be a shame to accomplish all this work only to have no final fight.”

He floated up. “Two days. Use them well. Ciao.” With that, he teleported away, leaving the group in the rain. 

-

Xero rested against Markoth, head buried into the moth’s fluff. It had felt nice before, but right now, it was his second savior. 

Markoth let Xero rest, arms wrapped around him protectively. The injuries he had sustained weren’t as severe as Markoth had originally thought. A few burns and slashes were nothing to panic over. 

Markoth’s gaze went to the sulking Ogrim. He still hadn’t returned to his jolly self. Zote had told them of the fight the dung beetle had against Grimm. But Markoth didn’t care about that. His mind was lingering on the fact that Ogrim, out of everyone, had put himself over a friend. 

Lost and Pure were the only ones that Ogrim allowed near him. The vessels bought a small smile to his face. Lost was nuzzled up against Pure, who sat besides Ogrim silently. 

The others were planning. Zote frowned as he set Life Ender in its sheath. “We have two days until certain doom. Any bright ideas?”

“Do you have any?” Galien defended, scythe leaning against a wall. 

“We-well, no, but-”

“Enough.” Elder Hu raised his voice before an argument could begin. “What matters now is figuring out what to do and letting the injured rest.”

“I think we have Step 2 done,” Revek muttered, glancing to where Xero was passed out against Markoth. 

“Someone might want to knock our local Ogrim out of his funk.” Zote nodded at the dung beetle. “We could use his strength. Of course, not as much as we could use mine…”

“We have to leave him be for now,” No Eyes objected calmly. “Let the vessels help him regain his confidence.”

“It’ll all be for naught if we just let this plan happen!” Zote countered, throwing his hands up. 

“Enough! We will emerge victorious!: Galien slammed a claw down. 

“If we keep wasting time like this, we won’t! Face it, we are screwed!” Zote folded his arms. “We have one of our best fighters out of commission, and Ogrim won’t get over his loss to lift a claw!” 

“We must give him time, Zote,” No Eyes told the Grey Prince. 

“Time isn’t on our side, grandma!”

Revek heaved a sigh. He wished he was with Marmu instead of watching his friends fight. He wished he was at the Glade, basking in its silence. 

He missed those days. He missed being with Marmu in the glade, playing with her and letting her defeat him in mock battle. 

The good days seemed to never have existed right now. And he wasn’t sure if they’d ever return.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They’re falling apart man
> 
> Xero says fuck too because he also deserves to curse. Also, I see so much of Xero suffering and I just hopped on that train :(
> 
> Soul Tyrant is a bastard but also not
> 
> Revek is so tired of everyone’s shit, and Zote actually has some sense


	15. Author’s Note

Probably one of the only times I’ll be doing this. I’ve decided to start re-writing this with the help of friends. I love this book, I really do, but it honestly feels like it has wasted potential. It also happens to be my first multi chapter book on this website, and with the chapter order really messed up for a while at first, it feels like the people who read this aren’t getting the full experience. 

I’ll keep posting and writing this until it’s finished, but I’ll also post a rewritten version as I go. The rewritten version will have been put through my writing program compared to Google Docs (what I write on for free fiction). The software is paid for and I don’t tend to use it for free writing, but I think this book is worth a few spent dollars. Google Docs has no major edits, just writing and grammar, so I think using my actual paid software will really increase the readability of this. 

I tried not to make everything perfect in this. I get really anxious when my writings aren’t “perfect” and it takes the fun out of writing, but this can lead to me overlooking small inconsistencies. 

Honestly, seeing comments can be both a blessing and a curse. Some people are really excited for new chapters and leave their thoughts about the current chapter, and reading those honestly makes my day. If something’s confusing, feel free to ask. Just don’t try to pick this apart bit by bit to find stuff that really shouldn’t need explaining. I don’t need to stress about people commenting on a Hollow Knight fic.

Speaking of which, this is my first real HK book. Book, not one-shot (which I do believe I write better). I have been playing HK since my birthday in July and I have a good grasp on the lore. I just write some characters better than others, which is why I love writing about the characters here. The only one I had trouble on was Pure Vessel, and even then a friend talked me through it. If you have a problem with the way I write someone, don’t read this book. Simple as that. 

That’s all I really have to say. I can’t thank the people who had supported me enough! Stay posted for a chapter later!

I’ll begin to put my tumblr and twitter in the end notes of chapters in case anyone wants to contact me for any reason, but here they are now. 

Tumblr: prototypegalaxies (art blog but will respond on there the most due to main blog being more professional in a different area)  
Twitter: @FallenGalaxys


	16. The Beginning of the End (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The plan begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Managed to roll this out. I celebrate Christmas, so today (Christmas Eve) is busy. Tomorrow might or might not have a chapter. We'll see.
> 
> This chapter was done on my laptop compared to my Chromebook. No reason why except I was hoping it'd be easier to italicize (It wasn't).
> 
> Also 400 hits? Excuse me?! Thanks you :D

Soul Tyrant looked over the City of Tears. He smirked at the wandering husks being killed by his underlings. Grimm commanded his Grimmkin, the devious beings using their flames to light lantern after lantern. The rainy streets were backed in a daunting crimson glow. 

Behind him, from the sanctum, came a scream. It went ignored by everyone, as did the corpse that was tossed out onto the streets. A Soul Twister tapped on Soul Tyrant, making the scholar turn. "Yes?"

"The machines are up and running once more. They work as they once did and the test was a complete success," the Twister reported, bowing. 

Soul Tyrant grinned. "Excellent. Have you heard back from the patrols?"

"Yes, sir. The enemies are located in the Resting Grounds. They haven't moved since arriving."

"Good. We might go unopposed for once." Soul Tyrant folded his arms. "Have the same patrol send them an offer: surrender or suffer the consequences. The choice is theirs'."

The Twister nodded again and teleported away. Soul Tyrant continued to watch the city, smirking as a small building crumbled under the constant attack from the Grimmkin. 

-

"Does he seriously consider us dull enough to consider such a ridiculous offer?" Zote smirked as he read the tablet over again. "Ha!"

"Weren't you just telling us about how we're doomed?" Galien asked, claws folded over each other. 

"Don't tell lies, I never uttered such a thing."

"Well, Zote, it's not as ridiculous as we might think." No Eyes was listening from nearby. 

Revek nodded. "I've seen a few Soul Twisters around here. They're watching us constantly."

Zote shot the guardian an incredulous look. "Are you suggesting we actually surrender?"

"Of course not. Don't be foolish." Revek watched the Grey Prince. "I'm simply saying that we can't try anything sneaky. They'll see and prepare for it."

"So what to suggest we do?" 

"We could use Ogrim."

Everyone looked over at Xero, who was tiredly watching them bicker. "Excuse me?" Ogrim asked, slowly looking at the red-clad bug as well. 

Xero inclined his head at the dung beetle. "Haven't you noticed? They've let their guards down around you. The Nightmare King thinks of you as worthless and weaker than he."

"He's not wrong to think that...," Ogrim muttered, head hanging. 

"That's not what I meant. I meant that we can use that." Xero leaned against Markoth, who gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "We can send you there with our reply, feigning surrender. They won't suspect anything because they think they have you beat." He smiled at Ogrim. "And then you'll take them down from the inside out. That'll show them what you can do."

Ogrim looked at Lost. The vessel nodded with a small wave of their nail. Pure nodded down at the honorable defender, their Pure Nail unsheathed. Ogrim smiled for the first time in a while and nodded, standing up. "Hand me that tablet. We'll show them that honor always comes out on top."

-

"Sir! Ogrim has returned with a tablet!"

Soul Tyrant perked up at the Soul Warrior's call. He floated to the window of his study, looking down at the entrance of the Sanctum. Sure enough, the White Defender stood there, claw clutching onto a tablet, eyes down and head low. Soul Tyrant smirked and teleported in front of him. 

"You're back. Shocker." Soul Tyrant held out a hand. "The tablet."

Ogrim obeyed, keeping his eyes down as he handed the stone over. Soul Tyrant began to read the writing, which read "We surrender to your glory and send the weakest over to deliver this response. We have no use for deadweights. Do what you please with him. The rest of us, including the ones we left behind, will arrive soon to bow before you."

Soul Tyrant smirked as he read the tablet. Wow. Brutal, but satisfying. He looked Ogrim over, who was submissive now, flinching under the scholar's gaze. "Is this true? Remember, lying isn't honorable, dear Ogrim."

There was no hesitation. "It is. We have surrendered. The others sent me off to deliver this before shortly leaving to retrieve their other party members."

Soul Tyrant was satisfied. "Good. Take yourself inside and make yourself useful. Help my scholars with their experiments using the soul-sucking machines. Dismissed."

Ogrim hurried past him, disappearing into the Sanctum. Soul Tyrant turned to a Soul Warrior. "Keep an eye on him. I don't think he's lying, but we never know. Make sure he obeys when you're experimenting." The Warrior nodded, teleporting away. Soul Tyrant sighed and teleported off to help the Grimmkin demolish more buildings. 

Ogrim tried not to wince as he felt the stares of many scholars turn to him. A Soul Warrior stepped forward. "The boss says the enemies surrender. This one is to help with the machines." He prodded Ogrim with the hilt of his weapon, pointing at a broken-looking machine. "We've been trying to start this one up. See what you can do."

Ogrim nodded obediently. He looked at the machine, hiding the disgust. A Snail Shaman was in a chair, many cables connected to it, no doubt dead. Ogrim looked down at the Soul Cache the metal bars were holding still, then at the open panel below. The scholars had tried to untangle the mass of badly tangle wires, to no avail. Hooking his claws beneath a wire, Ogrim carefully began to weave the wire below and above the others, trying his best to ignore the burning gazes of the enemy.

-

"I'm bored," came the whiny complaint of the maggot as it sat across from Marmu. Failed Champion had thrown about twenty tantrums now, and each time Marmu hadn't been able to calm them down. The caterpillar smiled softly at the maggot. 

"We can go explore again," she offered. 

"No! Greenpath is boring!" Failed Champion folded their arms. "I wanna see the city!"

"But... the others said to stay here." Marmu frowned. "I don't want to disobey them."

Failed Champion stood up. "Stay here then! Imma go explore!" They picked up their mace, turning away. Marmu whined softly before scrabbling to her feet to follow. 

-

"This new fashion job sucks," Zote muttered, looking at the city. The Lumafly Lanterns that once lined the streets were replaced with the lanterns familiar to the Grimmkin, a red glow basking the area. Several buildings were nothing but rubble now and a few corpses dotted the alleys.

"You're absolutely correct, for once." Markoth scowled at the devastation. His shield no longer floated near him, disabled and tucked away. The glow would be like a beacon in the darkness. The dim light of the city was their one advantage so far. 

Lost had gone out with Xero and No Eyes to scour the city for guards or Grimmkin. The vessel leaped, stabbing an unsuspecting Grimmkin in the back and killing it before it could realize what happened. Xero snuffed out the lantern and followed Lost as the vessel floated to the nearby Watcher's Spire. 

It had been Lost's idea to use Lurien's telescope. They had been applauded for it. The Spire was dimly lit and untouched, the elevator ride up giving the three a view of the city. Lost stared at the slow damage it was taking. They noticed the fountain of their sibling untouched in the middle. Good.

"Here, dear. Take a look." No Eyes offered the telescope to Lost. The vessel floated forward, peering through the eyepiece and slowly moving the telescope around to scan the city. They noticed Grimm, commanding his Grimmkin, near the City's Tower of Love. They stepped back and pointed at the Tower. 'Grimm there.'

No Eyes stroked their horns. "Good job, dear. Let us return to the others now."

"That may have to wait. We have company." Xero pointed out the window. Lost looked up, watching a massive group of Grimmkin come their way. The Nightmare King was behind them, looking angry. Lost blinked, then fled with the two Dream Warriors. They did not want to be here when Grimm arrived. 

The street's darkness aided the three fleeing ghosts. Lost ducked in an alleyway, weaving through buildings. They noticed Xero using the dark rooftops above them. No Eyes was behind them, keeping up perfectly well. 

"Find them THIS INSTANT!" Grimm's enraged command seemed to echo across the entire city. It reached the sanctum and Ogrim, the dung beetle stopping for a moment to look up with the scholars. 

"What's going on in here?" Soul Tyrant looked annoyed as he entered the room. 

"I'll tell you what's going on: the enemies are here!" Grimm snarked as he teleported into the scene. Ogrim looked away immediately, doing his best to shrink into a ball. 

"The Dream Warriors and the vessels? Preposterous. They've surrendered." Soul Tyrant held out the tablet. 

Grimm threw it to the ground. "You blithering fool, they're lying! They're here, in the City! They were using the Watcher's telescope!" 

Soul Tyrant seemed shocked. He recovered quickly, folding his arms. "And have you caught them?"

Grimm snarled. "Don't take that tone with me, scholar. I have troops out now to find them all."

Soul Tyrant scoffed slightly. He teleported away. Grimm turned to the watching scholars. "Get back to work, maggots."

The scholars quickly obeyed.

-

Lost watched helplessly as fire surrounded them. Their nail was drawn and they swung it at any Grimmkin who dared to get close. They weren't sure where No Eyes or Xero had gone. Lost dodged a fireball and slashed at another Grimmkin Novice. 

"Ah, ah, ah. Good vessels don't do that." Grimm teleported in front of Lost, taking them by surprise and making them flinch. Grimm plucked up their nail, handing it to a Grimmkin. He leaned down, smiling wickedly at Lost. "You've caused me some trouble. And troublemakers get punished."

Lost tried to leap for their nail. Grimm grabbed there cloak, holding the flailing vessel. "A valiant attempt, but not good enough. Three down, seven to go. Let's go give your friends a visit."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr is PrototypeGalaxies  
> Twitter is FallenGalaxys


	17. The Beginning of the End (Part 2): Revek vs Soul Tyrant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lost and NKG prepare to battle.
> 
> Revek finally gets his 1v1 with Soul Tyrant.
> 
> No Eyes and Xero ascend with the Great Mind, Gorb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapters are never meant to be when I write- 
> 
> I write this all on a google doc and that just hit 70 pages with one chapter missing (Chap 16 was written on Ao3 directly) and jeez I never thought that this would be that long

It was incredibly boring, waiting in the dark with nothing but rain to be ambience. Zote stifled a groan at the lack of action, leaning against a wall with Life Ender drawn. It was itching for a fight. He could feel it. 

“When will they be back?” the Grey Prince asked, lifting his head to look at Elder Hu, who merely hummed in response. 

“Soon, hopefully.” The elderly ghost seemed mostly unbothered as he polished the rings on his wrists. 

“Don’t you think it’s been, I dunno, a bit long?” Zote questioned. “The Spire isn’t that far away.”

“Knowing them, they’re fighting off a hoard of Grimmkin, which isn’t of any problem to them.”

Zote sighed heavily. He needed to fight. “Fine. But if they’re not back soon, I’ll search for them myself.”

-

Ogrim finished reconnecting the wires, all untangled and neat now. The scholars clapped slightly before resuming their positions. Ogrim stood aside, ignoring the daggers he was receiving from Soul Tyrant. 

Grimm teleported in and dusted off his hands. “Caught three of them. They’re your problem now.”

Soul Tyrant turned to the Nightmare King. “Which ones?”

“The broken vessel, the blind one, and Xero.” He said Xero’s name with extreme disgust. 

Soul Tyrant nodded and gestured to the now-running machines. “If you want to subject one of them to my machinery, feel free. My scholars just got it running again.”

Grimm examined a hand. “Not yet. I want to see the life drain from their eyes and I want the whole damned city to watch it happen. We use them as an example, show them what happens when you try to oppose us.” He gave a wicked grin. He could hardly wait, wanting to revel in the inevitable fear.

Soul Tyrant nodded, turning to a board and crossing off three names. “We have no need to find the others. They’ll come running to save their friends. Their loyalty to each other will be their downfall.”

Grimm gazed at the room of scholars. “On second thought, let’s simply hook one of them up to that thing. See if we can scare them.”

“The rebels?”

Grimm nodded. “And the citizens. As I said earlier, the rebels are merely an example. The city is in the process of renovation. We’ll send out invitations to the other areas of the kingdom, invite the still sane bugs to witness something truly spectacular. Then we’ll do it and we’ll give everyone the chance to bow down then and there.”

Soul Tyrant smirked. “I like it. And if they refuse?”

Grimm summoned a few flames of hellfire at the same time Soul Tyrant summoned six Soul Orbs. Neither said a word as they grinned at each other, each having the same answer: demolition.

Soul Tyrant teleported away. Grimm turned away as three Grimmkin appeared. “Make flyers and put them up everywhere you can. Stag stations, tram stations, Dirtmouth, the Colosseum. Anywhere they’ll be seen.” 

The Grimmkin nodded, all three teleporting away with soft cackles. Grimm teleported away as well, though it didn’t take long before he reappeared. Two Grimmkin Nightmares had Lost by the arms, leading the vessel into the room. Ogrim felt his eyes widen in anger as he saw the vessel.

Grimm never knew what hit him. 

The slash was sudden. Ogrim was across the room one moment, then had his claw in an uppercut motion the next, anger in his eyes. His mouth was turned down in a frown and he moved again, killing the Grimmkin in quick succession. Lost silently cheered and hugged Ogrim, who smiled as Grimm stared in shock. 

“Now, Lost, here’s your next lesson. Don’t steal from other bugs.” Ogrim gave the vessel their nail. Lost took it, joy in their eyes. The vessel looked at Grimm and waved their nail at the red bug. 

Grimm rubbed his face, then let his hand drop. He laughed loudly and maniacally. Immediately, flames sprang to life, making the scholars still around teleport away. The flames died down with the laughter and Grimm leaned his head on his hand. “You two really want to die, don’t you?”

Lost pointed their nail at Grimm and shook their head. Grimm smirked at the vessel and stood upright. “What did I tell you earlier, Lost? You’re trouble, and troublemakers get punished. But I’m willing to put that aside for a fight.”

Lost gazed up at Ogrim. The white defender got the hint and gave Lost a pat. “Good luck, friend.” Lost watched Ogrim as he departed, then turned back to Nightmare King Grimm and drew their nail.

-

Revek gazed up at the sanctum with an even expression. His nail was by his side, though Revek’s hand was clutching the hilt tightly. That grip grew tighter as he heard a disturbance behind him. 

“Ah, Revek. This seems kind of familiar, doesn’t it?”

Revek turned to Soul Tyrant. He gazed at the scholar and nodded stiffly. “Quite familiar.”

Soul Tyrant struck a thoughtful pose. “This makes me remember the time we fought. Do you recall? I do believe it was at the Spirits’ Glade.” He smirked as Revek tensed. 

“Who are you to speak of the Glade like that?” Revek asked tightly, his nail staying still. Soul Tyrant laughed mockingly. 

“I’m the one that didn’t fail to do my job.” His smirk grew as he watched the guardian’s grip falter. “You, on the other hand? You were beaten by a child. I doubt Marmu’s that strong, but if she can take you down? I almost pity you for this fight.”

Revek glared at Soul Tyrant. “You absolutely know what happened there.”

“I do indeed! But that’s not even the best part. The icing on the cake is the fact that you forgot who you were protecting!” Soul Tyrant laughed again as anger flashed in Revek’s eyes. “You call yourself a guardian?!”

Recek charged at the other bug, his nail drawn in an instant. He teleported away as his nail slashed across Soul Tyrant’s arm, leaving a gash that leaked Essence. Soul Tyrant gazed at it in glee, then turned to Revek. “A fight! Just what I wanted!”

“Enough talk.” Revek glared at Soul Tyrant. “You wanted this fight? I’d be happy to give you one.”

Soul Tyrant grinned. Six Soul orbs manifested around him and spun counterclockwise as he hurled them at Revek. The guardian dodged it and charged at Soul Tyrant again. He teleported away before he could be hit by the homing orb. 

Soul Tyrant fired orb after orb, trying to hit Revek. He felt himself getting frustrated as the latter kept dodging. How the hell was he so fast? He charged up a homing orb as Revek prepared to charge again. 

When the next slash ripped Soul Tyrant’s cloak, he fired the orb. It homed in on Revek, who noticed it and tried to dodge. Another orb manifested in front of him and hit Revek square on. Revek hissed softly but took the hit, teleporting away just before another homing orb could hit him. 

When Revek reappeared, Soul Tyrant was ready. He dove into the ground, teleporting away and shooting six more spinning orbs. Revek was able to dodge all but two of them when they homed in unexpectedly. Soul Tyrant smiled as he saw the guardian visibly wince from the hit. Nonetheless, Revek readied his nail again. 

Soul Tyrant dodged the slash this time and grabbed the blade as it barely skimmed his hand. The action took Revek by surprise and he let go of the hilt. Soul Tyrant was overcome with joy as he examined the blade. His eyes trailed down to the hilt and he felt the green ribbon wrapped around it neatly. 

Soul Tyrant looked at Revek, who was watching silently. Slowly, the scholar ripped off the ribbon, letting the tattered fabric flutter to the muddy earth. He then tossed the nail aside, its blade burying itself in the ground. He smirked with smug satisfaction and summoned more Soul orbs. “Now that you’re disarmed, do you want to continue?”

Revek was silent, staring at the ribbon. Soul Tyrant watched him as he gently picked it up, feeling the small thing. The scholar rolled his eyes and sent the orbs Revek’s way. Revek teleported away again. Soul Tyrant scanned the area, but he didn’t see the guardian reappear. 

Something sharp pierced the scholar’s back and his Soul orbs flickered out of existence as his body deflated. Revek loomed over him, his eyes completely blank of any emotion but rage. Soul Tyrant wheezed. Revek’s nail was still buried into the ground. “H-How-”

“Quiet.” Revek’s voice was icy. “You call yourself a scholar, yet you make the mistake of challenging me. You have the gall to mess with my nail, and you have the idiocy to mess with this.” He held up the ribbon. “This, a gift from Marmu, the ghost I have sworn to protect.”

Soul Tyrant let out a wheezy laugh despite the immense pain he was in. “And have you failed that job as well?”

Revek clutched at Soul Tyrant’s cloak scruff, lifting the scholar so their faces met. Soul Tyrant stared defiantly into Revek’s eyes. He tried to ignore the fear creeping upon him. He was immortal, dammit! 

Despite that fact, staring at Revek was like staring at certain doom. Revek was deathly silent, something that did not reassure the small part of Soul Tyrant that was convinced he was screwed. Revek let out a small bitter laugh, one that was almost as chilling as Grimm’s, if not more. 

“You’re quite the fool, I see. You had this coming. As soon as you messed with the Glade, your fate was sealed.” 

Soul Tyrant couldn’t gather the words to ask what that meant, but he didn’t have to as he watched Revek pick up his nail. The guardian turned back to Soul Tyrant and turned his nail so the hilt was facing the scholar. Even as he bought it down on the scholar’s head, Soul Tyrant couldn’t take his gaze away from the ribbon that was tattered as his pride. 

-

Gorb wasn’t as idiotic as the others made him out to be. He was smart, he was strong. He was “special”, as No Eyes had called it. 

The Great Mind stared at the lock on the cell door. Xero banged his head against the wall, jostling Gorb out of the inner mechanisms of his mind. He looked up at No Eyes, then the lock. 

“Did you hear me, Gorb? In order to ascend with us, you need to unlock that.” No Eyes pointed at the lock, her voice extremely calm. 

“By the gods, No Eyes, he doesn’t understand anything!” Xero’s patience had been long worn thin. In fact, at the second attempt to unlock the cell, the warrior had given up any hope. 

“Give him time, dear,” No Eyes said as she watched Gorb. The slug summoned a projectile and the small spear-like thing flew at the lock. It bounced off with a soft clink, making Xero sigh again. 

Gorb stared at the lock again, the cogs in his mind spinning. He began to think hard. How would they all ascend with this… obstacle in the way? His followers were waiting for his arrival. He had a speech to say. No Eyes and Xero had to hear it. None of them could be bothered with this thing any longer.

Gorb gazed at the lock, then summoned more projectiles. They all hit the lock at the same time. One of them slid into the keyhole and the lock fell to the floor as it clicked open. 

“Gorb! Ascend!” Gorb cheered for his wisdom as No Eyes clapped. Xero muttered a soft “what the fuck”. Gorb didn’t care as he puffed himself out, expecting praise. 

The Great Mind stopped. What were they doing?! They had to ascend quickly, or they’d be late! Gorb turned to his friends. “Ascend!” 

No Eyes nodded. “That’s correct.” She turned to Xero. “Xero, let’s ascend with the Great Mind.”

Xero sighed as he gave Gorb a small pat. “Sure. Go on then, ascend or whatever.”

“Ascend!” Gorb was giddy with excitement as he focused his mind, imagining the inevitable heaven above. He imagined his friends there and the praise he’d receive. Gorb teleported away, making inaudible noises as he made sure No Eyes and Xero were with him. 

No Eyes was rather unfazed by the teleportation. She had teleported plenty of times before and each time it was the same. She smiled at Gorb’s chants and Xero’s unintelligible noises of absolute panic. Right, the warrior had never teleported before. 

For Xero, teleporting was absolutely bonkers. He could hardly see anything except blurs. There was a loud noise surrounding him, but it was drowned out by the wind whipping past him. He didn’t doubt he was screaming. He felt light one moment, then heavy the next. Any sense of direction was gone. Down and up had merged long ago. Xero thanked the Pale King he couldn’t teleport. He’d be dead again by now. 

As quickly as it started, it was over. The others stared at Gorb appeared out of nowhere, No Eyes and Xero besides him. No Eyes smiled as Xero teetered over to Markoth, making unintelligible noises that signaled he was losing sanity. Markoth held the other and looked at Gorb and No Eyes. 

“First time teleportation always has that effect, huh?” the moth asked, smiling softly as Xero held onto him like a lifeline. 

No Eyes smiled as well. “He’ll have to try it again sometime.” She turned to Gorb. “Do you want to help the others ascend as well?”

Gorb’s expression lit up. “Gorb! Ascend! Ascend with the Great Mind!”

Zote watched the Dream Warriors, Pure by his side. He rubbed his head, not bothering to try and understand it anymore. Pure was silent and slightly confused. The tall vessel stared at Gorb. What an odd creature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe I loved this chapter 
> 
> Revek snaps and I love him so much oh my god
> 
> Xero is the only Dream Warrior that cannot teleport, which I find funny. I double checked on the HK Wiki. Most of them say “in addition to being able to teleport”. Galien and Marmu’s doesn’t mention it directly but we know they can teleport based off their fights. In addition to him never teleporting when you fight him, Xero’s page is the only one that doesn’t, thus we get him having a goddamn panic attack.


	18. The End of It All

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final battles commence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second or third to last chapter! 
> 
> This was extremely fun to write, I cannot deny that. There’ll be either one or two more chapters before I close this book. I’ll certainly return to it, definitely for a rewrite. I love these characters so much, so I’ll certainly make more stories on them. Sequel happening? More likely than you’d think.

Soft applause sounded from the Grimmkin as Nightmare King Grimm teleported away, the last few fireballs aimed at Lost. The vessel dodged them with grace, their grip on their nail never faltering. They saw the small puff of red smoke to their left as Grimm reappeared, opening his cloak as four fire bats emerged. Lost did a short leap, their tallest horn barely missing the upper bats as they readied their nail for a slash. Grimm skittered back on four legs, then teleported away. 

When he reappeared, he was met with a nail coming down on him. He barely skittered back, Lost continuing their arc for a half-second before stopping. Lost turned to Grimm and charged at him again, pulling back their nail for another large swipe. Grimm teleported to the ceiling and dove at the vessel. Their weapons met, parrying each other for a moment before Grimm gave in, dodging Lost’s nail as he teleported away again. 

Fire began to burn at Lost’s feet. They leaped and barely managed to dodge the first fiery pillar. As they ran to avoid the other three, they could feel the intense heat of the hellfire. The ends of their cloak was singed and they could make out the floating form of the Nightmare King above the flames. Grimm teleported away, though he didn’t reappear right away. Instead, spikes protruded from the ground and Lost was forced to remain still as they reached the ceiling of the Sanctum. 

Grimm reappeared above the ground. His arm, wrapped in crimson cloak, manifested into a spear-like weapon. He dove at Lost, dashing at the vessel as soon as his feet touched the ground. Lost barely spun out of its way and lifted their nail to their face as Grimm turned and tried to attack, parrying again. Grimm followed it with an uppercut that took Lost off guard. They stumbled back, but Grimm took this moment to leap up and teleport away, six fireballs falling to the ground as he vanished. 

Lost watched as a sudden round of applause sounded. They knew what that meant, and their suspicions were confirmed as Grimm appeared and his spiky cloak puffed out. Fireballs rained down on the makeshift battlefield and Lost was thrown into a small game of dodging. As soon as it ended, Grimm appeared on the ground, arm thrown back and leg poised as he opened his cloak. Lost leaped, but slashed their nail mid-air, striking their opponent and making him disappear in another puff of red smoke. 

“Now this is a dance!” Grimm almost sounded pleased as he appeared above Lost, diving down with his spear ready. Lost dodged it and returned with their own nail slash. The two danced around each other for a moment, neither giving in, both slashing at the other with everything they had. Lost got the upper hand and their nail caused Grimm to teleport away. 

When Grimm readied another dive, Lost dodged it with a backstep and flailed their nail in an overhead arc. This caught the taller bug across the midsection and he teleported away again. Flames rose from the floor again, though Lost was caught in the final one. Their cloak caught fire and they hurried to put it out. Grimm took the small opening and dove at the vessel. The spear hit this time, catching Lost’s nail-holding arm. The blade flew across the room, leaving Lost weaponless. 

Grimm smirked and took the time to bow to the watching Grimmkin. “This dance is about over, I’d say. Now, for the finale!” He puffed out his cloak again. Lost watched the rain of fireballs. Instead of dodging, however, they made a move for their fallen nail, ignoring the burns of the fire as they hit the vessel. Grimm inclined his head slightly and laughed. Lost picked up their blade just as they saw Grimm dive once more. Their eyes widened a bit and reflex took over, their nail thrusting forward instantly. 

A scathing sound of pain came from the Nightmare King before he teleported away, all the traces of lingering fire disappearing with him. Lost blinked, confused as they gazed around the room. The scorch marks were still present, the stone almost blackened. Lost surveyed their cloak and nail, finding little damage from the fight. Lost strapped their nail to their back and turned to leave, their singed cloak fronds dragging behind them as they left, never looking back at the scene of their first dance.

-

Soul Tyrant wanted to scream as he picked himself up. He hadn’t a clue how long he was out for and it would’ve bothered him. But what bothered him more, at that precise moment, was the chilling glare from an unseen Revek. He was here, somewhere, Soul Tyrant knew that. He sneered at his surroundings. “Do you intend on glaring at me, hoping I’ll drop dead soon?”

“Being honest, that’s exactly what I hope will happen.” Revek’s voice was cold and seemed to echo around Soul Tyrant. “But I know better than to falsely hope.”

It became clear to Soul Tyrant that the guardian meant business from his voice alone. The scholar folded his arms, cloak billowing. “And what do you hope to do? Stop us?”

“Precisely. You’ve just about lost.” Revek teleported in front of him. The first thing Soul Tyrant noticed was the green ribbon. It was no longer around the hilt of Revek’s nail. Rather, the tattered fabric stretched across his cloak, standing out against the otherwise navy color. It was incredibly tattered still. 

Nonetheless, Soul Tyrant scoffed with a small chuckle. “Lost? I beg to differ! Do you really think you can beat two powerful beings such as Grimm and myself?”

“I did. And we did.” Ogrim folded his claws as he emerged from the shadows of the alley. Pure stepped out behind him, their nail drawn and their gaze hard. Lost dropped down from above, the singed cloak signaling they had dueled Grimm (and presumably won). 

Soul Tyrant felt his smugness fading as the other Dream Warriors joined the small circle. Markoth and Xero glared with intensity, side by side and hand in hand, their red cloaks standing out to Soul Tyrant’s left. To his right, he could see No Eyes, Gorb, and Galien, watching with dislike. Zote folded his arms as he blocked one of the only exits from the square. Elder Hu was slightly above him.

Soul Tyrant, despite being outnumbered, smirked. “Do you really think this intimidates me? I could beat all of you easily, with or without scholars.”

“You think so?” Markoth inclined his head. His nails shimmered as he gazed at Xero. 

“Should we test that theory?” Xero asked, eyes gleaming as he gazed around. 

“I quite like that idea. Wouldn’t you agree, Gorb?” No Eyes questioned Gorb, who nodded with an enthusiastic “Ascend!”

Galien seemed to agree as well, dragging a claw up his scythe. “We’re all quite rusty in combat, if I recall.”

Ogrim looked at Pure. “In the honor of the King?”

Pure nodded. ‘In the honor of the King,’ they signed back. They looked at Lost. ‘Sibling, join us?’

Lost nodded quickly, raising their nail. They looked over at Zote. ‘Help us, friend?’ They signed. 

Zote smirked. “Absolutely.” He drew Life Ender, grinning. 

Soul Tyrant’s smirk fell as the others drew their weapons as well. The glow from Xero and Markoth’s nails was almost blinding and he was not looking forward to testing the sharpness on the weapons of Pure and Galien. Soul Tyrant would’ve scoffed at the spirits that gathered around No Eyes, or the rings Elder Hu summoned, if they didn’t look excited at the thought of a fight. Even Gorb summoned projectiles with a happy “Gorb!”

Despite all of this, Soul Tyrant refused to back down. He summoned countless Soul orbs and laughed. “Well?! You lot wanted a fight! I’ll give you one!”

“This will end quite quickly,” Zote commented. Nonetheless, he crossed the square in a quick burst of speed, flailing his nail. Soul Tyrant threw the Grey Prince back with a quick manipulation of Soul. The square went still for a moment. 

And then it was chaos.

-

Marmu didn’t know what to expect when she and Failed Champion entered the City of Tears. Maybe she was looking forward to a quiet visit to the capital. Perhaps she would buy a few gifts for the others when they returned. Of course, she had no Geo, but she’d make do.

What she did not expect was to find the square in a massive battle. Failed Champion stopped, causing Marmu to crash into them. She squeaked in shock and peered around the knight. She ducked to avoid the red flash that flew past her. She looked back as Xero got up. 

“Hi, Marmu. Don’t know why you’re here, but might wanna stay back. Gotta go murder a scholar. Be a good girl now, see you for dinner.” Xero spoke extremely quickly as he got up and leaped back into the fray. Marmu looked at the square again. 

She could identify everyone. Soul Tyrant was in the middle of it all, throwing everyone back with blast after blast. The nails and projectiles of Markoth, Xero, and Gorb flew constantly and she could see Revek dodge and weave through the projectiles, trying to get close. Galien had teamed with Zote and were working together to get closer, constantly blocking attacks and retaliating with their own. A haunting melody was audible over the blasts and spirits were drifting through the rain as No Eyes sang. 

A flash of white and gold was nearby. Marmu watched as Lost used the rings Elder Hu had manifested as tools, gathering height before leaping down on a Soul Warrior with a mighty swipe of their nail. Pure was a storm on their own, constantly leaping and creating bursts of Soul. Ogrim popped out of the ground with a yell, destroying several Follies and Mistakes before diving into the earth again. 

“Enough!” Soul Tyrant dove into the ground. The blast blew everyone back, killing several of his own scholars. Marmu hid behind Failed Champion, staring up at the scholar that floated above them all, laughing. 

“I cannot wait to kill you all!” Soul Tyrant jeered down at the group. “I want to watch the Soul leave your forms, one by one!” 

Marmu was ready to watch her friends get back up and fight again. None of them rose, however. Those that weren’t watching Soul Tyrant were looking at the ground. Marmu scrambled over to Markoth and Xero, pulling at the former’s cloak.

“Why are you just lying there?” Marmu asked softly. 

“We made a valiant attempt,” Markoth muttered, pulling his cloak away from Marmu’s paws. “But we can’t win here.”

“Yes, you can!” Marmu urged, trying not to let tears form. She ignored the maniacal laughter echoing around her. 

Xero put a hand on her. “We can’t, Marmu.” He nodded to the enemy. “We can’t win.”

Marmu huffed and approached Revek. She tried not to whine as she saw the tattered ribbon she had gifted him. Instead, she took his free hand, hoping it’d get the guardian to look away from Soul Tyrant. “Revek…?”

Revek didn’t look away. “Yes?” He sounded so tired, so drained. It made Marmu want to cry. 

She didn’t. “Why won’t anyone get back up?” She hoped Revek would give her answers. He always did.

Revek closed his eyes. He thought for a moment, then opened them again, gazing at Marmu. “We all know what happens now. And we know not to fight it.” 

Frustration welled up inside Marmu. “Fine.” She let go of Revek’s hand, marching towards Soul Tyrant and ignoring the several questions that arose from Revek. Marmu looked up at Failed Champion, who nodded. 

Soul Tyrant laughed at the two. “Really? This is what you do in a final attempt to beat me? Send two children after me?” 

“Marmu, get back here please,” No Eyes pleaded softly. Marmu ignored her, holding onto Failed Champion’s helmet as the maggot stepped forward. 

There was a cry and Gorb was next to them. “Ascend with Gorb!” he cried. He gazed at Marmu. “Ascend with Gorb.” Marmu patted his head and nodded.

Soul Tyrant charged a blast, flying at Failed Champion. The maggot pulled their mace back, aiming it as Soul Tyrant charged at them. 

The mace slammed into Soul Tyrant’s face instantly.

Marmu smiled at the scholar as he flew into a wall. “You’ve been bad, mister,” she scolded as Failed Champion loomed over him. Marmu hopped down and slapped Soul Tyrant’s face with as much force as she could muster. The sound of the hit seemed to echo. 

For a moment, there was silence. Then, soft snickering from Revek. Gazes turned to the guardian as he covered his face with a hand, laughing softly. Zote was the next one to join in, though his laughter was much more boisterous.

Marmu felt pleased as she heard the laughter of her family. She approached them and was swept up in a group hug. Marmu would have cried then, had it not been for the fact that she was too busy laughing with her family. 

The moment was broken by Soul Tyrant staggering to his feet. He wobbled unsteadily. “Y-you really think you’ve beaten me…?” Everyone watched him as he staggered closer uneasily. “I refuse t-to be bested by children…!”

Zote was about to snap back when movement from Xero cut him off. The red-clad bug shook his head at Soul Tyrant. He nodded Ogrim over, who approached. 

“I’ve been waiting to do this forever,” was the only thing Xero said before he clenched a fist and punched Soul Tyrant across the face. Soul Tyrant sputtered for a moment before Xero did it again. “And that one’s from Ogrim. He’d never do it, as much as he wants to.” Silently with a nod, Ogrim reached out and slightly pushed Soul Tyrant over, smiling when the scholar hit the ground.

Marmu giggled again in Revek’s arms, the biggest smile on her face. She looked up at the group. “Can we go home now? I’m hungry.”

Zote smiled as he nodded. “Agreed. This knight of great renown needs his beauty sleep.”

Soft laughter sounded from the group as they began to depart the city, leaving everything behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It all comes full circle. 
> 
> My planning sheet went up in flames at like Chapter 12. I didn’t follow it at all after that. Maybe that’ll be another thing I do- write this with that ending lmao
> 
> Honestly, the urge to make Ogrim punch ST with Xero was so hard to overcome too


	19. Giving Gifts to Graves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Dream Warriors and Bosses take a moment to relax. Grimm and Brumm visit a few graves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter! It might roll out tonight if I’m feeling up for it!

It hadn’t been long since Soul Tyrant’s defeat, probably a week or so. Even so, everyone was still in the process of healing, though the worst of the wounds were healed with a small trip to the hot springs. 

The City was rebuilt, courtesy of No Eyes and Elder Hu. Revek had visited the Glade and was overjoyed to find it good as new, the decorations and mementos restored. He had locked the door after a final goodbye to ensure the Glade was left untouched by anyone as long as it stood. 

The foliage of the Queen’s Gardens swayed gently. Marmu batted at a few fronds, chasing the few Maskflies that flew away as she ran. 

“Marmu, don’t go too far!” Markoth called softly after the caterpillar. He had relaxed for the first time in a while, his shield positioned above him as he watched Marmu play. 

Flashes of white made the moth look up. Ogrim gave a small wave of greeting, the two vessels behind him. He turned to them and smiled. “Have fun. We’ll be right here.”

Lost set their nail down and ran after Marmu. Pure followed slower, keeping their nail sheathed but handy if needed. Ogrim sighed in contentment as he watched the three, leaning on a stone next to Markoth. 

“It’s quite nice, being able to enjoy days like these again,” the dung beetle commented. He didn’t have to look hard to see the smile in Markoth’s eyes as the moth nodded. 

“It is nice, isn’t it?” The moth warrior folded his arms, letting out a soft chuckle as he watched Marmu and Lost gang up on a singled out Maskfly. 

There was a silence between the two for a moment. Ogrim broke it with a small sigh. “I’d like to believe our problems are over, but it’d be foolish to assume such.”

Markoth nodded. “There’s always a problem brewing up somewhere.” He looked up to his shield and watched as the golden flower span around him slowly. Markoth looked back to the vessels and Marmu. “But it doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy today.”

Ogrim chuckled. “Well said, my friend.” He felt the small concerns he had melt away as he watched Pure join in on the ongoing game of chase. “Well said.”

-

Xero sighed softly as he leaned against a wall, trying to ignore the non-stop glares he was receiving from Soul Tyrant across the room. “Will you cut it out?”

“Cut what out? I’m not doing anything.” Soul Tyrant continued to glare despite his words. 

“He’s admiring your beauty, Xero. Don’t make the guy stop,” Zote teased. The comment made both Xero and a nearby Galien sputter, one in horror and the other in amusement. 

Zote smirked as he continued. “Of course, he should be admiring me.”

At this, Soul Tyrant looked over at the Grey Prince. He gazed at Zote scrutinizingly, then scoffed. “Absolutely not.”

Zote gasped in faux shock as Xero snickered. “You know,” the red bug piped up, “he’s absolutely right about that.”

Galien gave Zote a small pat on the shoulder. “Fret not. Not all of us can look pretty and be strong at the same time.”

Zote looked up hopefully. “But I can?”

“Heavens no. Pick one and stick with it.” 

Zote huffed. He looked over at Gorb. “Gorb, what do you think?”

The Great Mind paused his floating to look over. He seemed to think. “Ascend!” 

“Ha! Gorb agrees and that’s all I need!” 

“Tell yourself that, then. Whatever makes you happy,” Soul Tyrant muttered, resuming his glaring at Xero. The red-clad warrior sighed. 

-

“...Sir? Are you alright?”

Grimm almost flinched at the sound of Brumm’s voice. He turned around and gazed at the accordion player. “Quite fine, Brumm.”

Brumm inclined his head at the map the troupemaster held. “What’s that, sir?”

Grimm smiled. “Oh, this? Simply a map I purchased from the cartographer in town.”

“What use do you have for a map?”

Grimm turned away from Brumm, watching the Grimmchild as the small child nipped at his free hand. The map was rather plain, though it had a few pins on it. He stroked one of the Warriors’ Grave pins with a finger. “It’s always nice to know where the dead rest, isn’t it?” He tucked the map away. “Have the Delicate Flowers arrived yet?”

Brumm nodded. “Indeed, mhrmmm. They are outside.”

Grimm’s smile widened. “Excellent. Come along now, Brumm. We have gifts to give.”

-

“Pardon me, sir, but what use do we have in the barren Kingdom’s Edge?”

Grimm smiled at Brumm. He nodded at the Shade Gate ahead. “Behind here lies the corpse of a fallen warrior.” He set one of the flowers down. “Let us hope they find this gift nice.”

The troupemaster and servant turned away. Neither noticed the barely visible spirit of a moth behind them, the spirit picking up the flower and holding it close. 

They were to visit six other graves. The closest one from Kindgom’s Edge was one in the Resting Grounds. Brumm set the flower down as Grimm smiled at the plague. “A tragic end for the traitorous victim.”

Brumm could’ve sworn he saw a red bug appear in front of Grimm, their helmet looking exactly like the tombstone. He blinked and the apparition was gone. Grimm made a small stop by the Seer’s tent to place a flower in front of a locked door before they departed.

The next grave was in Fungal Wastes. Grimm bowed, as did Brumm. “A wise Elder, this bug was. I do hope his wisdom continues to spread joy in this Kingdom.”

Brumm was convinced he was going crazy when he saw the flower move slightly. 

The next graves were relatively close. One in Deepnest, a simple corpse of a fallen bug. Grimm polished their scythe while talking, tieing a flower to the weapon. Brumm felt his fur spike at the sudden cold the cavern adopted. 

The darkness of the Stone Sanctuary didn’t faze Grimm as he ventured towards the tombstone. There was a flash of light as Grimm set the flower down. Brumm’s eyes widened as he saw several ghosts clustered around a gray one. They were gone within seconds. 

Remorse filled the air as they visited the Queen’s Gardens. “A terrible thing, for a child to die so soon.” Grimm was somber as he set the flower down. Brumm sputtered at the caterpillar that suddenly manifested. Another spirit was next to them, a long nail in hand as they guarded the child. Brumm went to speak and they vanished.

Grimm smiled once more as he nodded at the grave of the Great Mind. “One day, I will ascend with the Great Mind. We all will. Wait for us, will you, Gorb?”

The winds of the Howling Cliffs couldn’t convince Brumm he wasn’t hallucinating when he heard a “Ascend with Gorb!” echo. 

Grimm was content when they finally returned to Dirtmouth. He smiled at Brumm. “Thank you, dear servant. Now, excuse me while I rest up. We have a big show tomorrow.”

Brumm left the troupemaster’s room. Grimm sighed as he wrapped his cloak around them, eager to see his ghostly friends once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope it was clear that Grimm was normal in this chapter. I tried to show it by calling him “troupemaster” as opposed to the “Nightmare King”. 
> 
> Next chapter will be a small fun one! :D


End file.
